Fire breaks out at Gangnam hotel, no casualties reported

A fire broke out at the former Le Meridien Seoul hotel that was being redeveloped in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, authorities said.

The fire started at 12:46 p.m. on the roof of the building near Sinnonhyeon Station, according to Gangnam Fire Station. Authorities confirmed that the fire was completely put out in about an hour, after 171 firefighters and 51 fire trucks were deployed to the scene.

The hotel was closed in February 2021 for redevelopment and no casualties have been reported. Eight construction workers who were on the rooftop had to be evacuated.

The cooling towers and construction materials on the roof were burned down.

Police plan to investigate the cause of the accident further.

“As of now, it seems that a fire broke out during construction work due to sparks that occurred while cutting pipes,” police said.

The building opened as South Seoul Hotel in 1980, then the Ritz-Carlton Seoul Hotel since 1995 and as Le Meridian Seoul since 2017.

The hotel, which housed the nightclub Burning Sun, took a hit after the far-reaching sex and drug scandal that involved the club and its executives came to light in 2018. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was the final nail in the coffin for the struggling hotel.

The hotel will be redeveloped into an office and retail center with seven basement floors and 31 floors.