Casualty figures and damages are still being assessed after firefighters rescued workers from the blaze in Busan city.
At least six people have been killed in a fire at a hotel construction site in South Korea’s port city of Busan, where firefighters are still assessing damages.
The fire broke out around mid-morning on Friday and appears to have quickly escalated, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports.
Busan city’s fire service deployed 90 firefighters to put out the blaze and used helicopters to rescue workers trapped inside the multistorey building – including 14 from the rooftop.
“We’re currently searching the interior of the building,” a firefighting official said, according to Yonhap. “Police and the local government are determining the exact number of workers [who were inside].”
Television footage of the fire showed smoke pouring from the modern glass-fronted high-rise building, according to The Associated Press news agency. More than 100 people were evacuated from the scene, but it was not immediately clear if all workers had been rescued.
At least seven people were injured in the fire, Yonhap reported, although injuries are still being counted.
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South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-mok said “all available personnel and equipment” were being deployed to the accident site.
While the origin of the fire is still unknown, it has been linked in the media to insulation material stored on the first floor of the construction site.
The hotel reportedly belongs to Banyan Tree, a luxury hotel and resort chain from Singapore, according to Yonhap.
The blaze is the second major fire incident in Busan in recent weeks.
On January 28, an Air Busan plane caught fire shortly after takeoff from Busan’s Gimhae International Airport, but all passengers and crew were safely evacuated.
The fire was attributed to a portable battery pack stored in an overhead cabin of the plane.
