Fire in eel restaurant in central Seoul still not extinguished

A fire broke out at an eel restaurant in Bukchang-dong in central Seoul on Thursday evening. The first responding unit arrived at about 6:28 p.m., but the fire has yet to be brought under control. No casualties have been confirmed as of press time.

A fire breaks out at a commercial building in Bukchang-dong, Jung District, central Seoul, in the evening of Feb. 26. [YONHAP]

A fire broke out at an eel restaurant in Bukchang-dong, Jung District, central Seoul, on Thursday evening.

The Jungbu Fire Station received a report at around 6:22 p.m. that gray smoke was coming from the second floor of a building in the area.

Fire officials have deployed approximately 90 personnel and 20 pieces of equipment to the scene and are working to extinguish the blaze.

The first responding unit arrived at about 6:28 p.m., but the fire has yet to be brought under control. No casualties have been confirmed as of press time.

A fire breaks out at a commercial building in Bukchang-dong, Jung District, central Seoul, in the evening of Feb. 26. [YONHAP]

Officials are conducting firefighting operations from outside the building, citing the risk of collapse due to the structure’s age.

“Smoke started coming out around 6:15 p.m.,” an employee at a nearby shop said. “When I went to the roof, I saw black smoke. I notified the eel restaurant [owner] that there was a fire, and they said that they had already reported it. About five minutes later, police and fire trucks arrived, and customers evacuated on their own.”

The employee added that after people cleared the area, they heard a loud bang and the sound of glass breaking.

The fire caused traffic congestion in the area as smoke spread. From about 6:48 p.m., authorities have been partially controlling traffic on Sejong-daero, shutting some lower lanes from Sungnyemun toward City Hall Station to support firefighting efforts.

Jung District sent out an emergency alert at about 7:28 p.m., urging residents nearby to be careful of inhaling smoke and drivers to take detours.

Update, Feb. 26: Added details about the background of the fire and extinguishing efforts.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]