18 injured in motel fire in Hwaseong

Eighteen people were injured Monday after a motel caught fire in Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, according to local media.

One person was found on the second floor in a state of cardiac arrest, but recovered.

The fire reportedly began on the first floor of the four-story building at 10 p.m., but the smoke quickly spread to the entire building.

At the time, 22 people were staying in the motel and many of them were foreign workers at a nearby employer who was using the motel to accommodate them.

Gyeonggi-do Fire Services issued a first-stage response at 10:13 p.m. and elevated it to the second stage 10 minutes later, as it was informed that many people were trapped inside the building.

The fire was extinguished at 10:47 p.m. Three people were severely hurt while the other 15 suffered minor injuries.

The patient who suffered a cardiac arrest is receiving hospital treatment.

The police and fire authorities plan to investigate to find the cause of the fire.