1 killed, 4 in cardiac arrest in hotel fire in Bucheon

BUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province (Yonhap) -- One person was killed and four others were in cardiac arrest following a fire at a hotel in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, on Thursday, police said.

According to the Gyeonggi Province firefighting headquarters, the fire began on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel at 7:39 p.m.

"We're currently putting out the fire and trying to rescue people, so we haven't determined the exact number of casualties," a firefighting official said. "The number of casualties could grow as we're continuing to rescue the guests."

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min called for all-out efforts by firefighting authorities and the local government to extinguish the fire and rescue people using all available personnel and equipment.