Three Lankans among nine killed in S Korea fire

Nine people were killed, including three migrant workers from Sri Lanka, and 25 others injured when a fire raged through a karaoke facility in Busan, South Korea, the Police said yesterday.

The blaze broke out in one of the 28 rooms at the karaoke lounge on the third floor of a six-storey building in the southeastern port city around 8.55pm on Saturday, causing smoke to spread quickly through the facility and customers to panic, witnesses said.

All nine victims - seven men and two women - died from inhaling toxic gases, the Police said. The dead include three Sri Lankans who were holding a company party with three other Korean colleagues.

One of the injuries was serious, but the others were non-life threatening, police said.

Police said smoke apparently made customers unable to find exits and led to the large toll.

About 20 fire trucks and 100 firefighters battled the fire and extinguished it around 10 pm.

Police said they are investigating what caused the fire based on witness accounts that a torrent of flames started with a bang sound.

Courtesy: Yonhap.