Guest house fire in Seoul injures 10, mostly foreign tourists

Fire trucks and emergency vehicles are parked as firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at a guest house on the third floor of a seven‑story building in Sogong‑dong, Jung‑gu, Seoul on Saturday. (Yonhap)

A fire at a guest house popular with foreign travelers in central Seoul on Saturday evening injured 10 people, Seoul fire officials said.

The blaze broke out at about 6:10 p.m. on the third floor of a seven-story building in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, according to the Seoul Jungbu Fire Station.

Firefighters raised their response to Level 1 -- an elevated status that activates an incident command and mobilizes additional fire engines, ambulances, rescue teams and interagency coordination -- and mounted an intensive firefighting operation.

By 8:45 p.m. crews had largely contained the flames.

Three people were transported to hospital with serious injuries and seven others suffered minor injuries, mainly from smoke inhalation, the fire service said.

Officials said most of the injured were foreign visitors staying at the guest house.

Authorities set up temporary shelters for evacuees and issued public safety messages warning residents to avoid inhaling heavy smoke. Nearby roads, including sections around City Hall and Namdaemun, were closed while emergency services worked at the scene.

Investigators were at the site to determine the cause of the fire, the fire station said. No further details on the victims’ nationalities or current conditions were released.