South Korea : At least 37 killed, 100 injured in deadly hospital fire
Seoul, Jan 26 (IBNS) : In a devastating fire that raged through a South Korea hospital in Miryang city on Friday, at least 37 people were killed and more than 100 injured.
According to CNN, the toll could further rise as a total of 18 people are in critical condition. .
Miriyang is in South Korea's Gyeongsangnam-do province and located about 270 km south-west of Seoul.
The reports quoted officials as saying that the fire started around 7 20 am local time in the emergency room on the first floor of the 98-bed Sejong Hospital.
The majority of those killed in the blaze are believed to be elderly patients, CNN quoted Chun Jae-kyung, head of the Public medical center in Miryang, as saying.
Most of the deaths were due to asphyxiation because of smoke inhalation.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
It took fire fighters three hours to completely extinguish the flames which engulfed the first two floors of the six-story building.
At a press briefing, Son Kyung-chul, chairman of Sejong Hospital, said that sprinklers were not installed in the building due to its small size.
Footage aired on local TV showed emergency workers battling the blaze, as hospital staff rushed to evacuate patients, carrying those unable to walk on their backs.
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