Woman killed in fire started by stray cat

A woman in her 70s was killed and her husband was injured in a fire at their farmhouse in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday morning.

A stray cat is believed to have caught fire when the husband was burning garbage outside the house. It spread the fire to the house. 

“I saw a cat on fire jumping, and then the house caught fire and spread all over in an instant,” the husband told police, adding that the house and the garbage-filled drum were over a meter apart.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire, which burned down the house and a barn, resulting in damage amounting to 20 million won ($18,044).

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)