Fires Break Out at Two Buildings in Gangnam's Yeoksam-dong; Police: "Tracking Arson Suspect" (Updated)
Fires break out one after another, seven minutes apart and 200 meters away
One found in cardiac arrest, 18 injured... taken to hospital
"Someone set a fire"; police suspect arson
Fires broke out at two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, just seven minutes apart. Police have launched an investigation, considering the possibility of arson.
In a media notice issued on the afternoon of the 20th, the Seoul Suseo Police Station said, "We are investigating the fires in Yeoksam-dong, reported between 11:55 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. today, on suspicion of arson." Police are reportedly tracking a suspect in his 70s.
According to police and fire authorities, reports came in at around 11:54 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. today that fires had broken out at the Shinmyeong Building and the Hanyang Building in Yeoksam-dong, respectively. Investigators found that the two buildings were only 200 to 300 meters apart.
A total of 19 people were injured in the fires at the two buildings. At the Shinmyeong Building, the site of the first report, the fire broke out on the third floor. Two people were seriously injured and nine sustained minor injuries. One of the seriously injured people was found in cardiac arrest, while the other suffered severe burns. Around 60 people in the building evacuated on their own.
At the Hanyang Building, where the second fire broke out, eight people sustained minor injuries, including from smoke inhalation and burns, on the fourth floor.
Firefighters and police responding to the reports deployed 224 personnel and 56 vehicles to extinguish the fires. The fire at the Shinmyeong Building was fully extinguished at around 2:20 p.m., and the fire at the Hanyang Building at around 12:35 p.m.
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Both offices where the fires broke out were identified as offices of patent law firms. After receiving a report that "someone set a fire," police launched an investigation focusing on the possibility of arson, including tracking the suspect's movements.
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