Smoke billows from a building that caught fire at around noon on Tuesday in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)
Smoke billows from a building that caught fire at around noon on Tuesday in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)

Fire broke out at two buildings in Yeoksam-dong in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, on Tuesday, inflicting severe injuries on two people and minor injuries on 18 others.

Officials at the Gangnam Fire Station said a fire broke out on the third floor of one of the buildings at around 11:54 a.m. One person suffered cardiac arrest, while 10 others sustained minor injuries such as smoke inhalation.

Another 60 people in the building fled the scene on their own.

A separate fire broke out on the fourth floor of another building in the district just minutes later, at around 12:01 p.m. The second fire inflicted injuries on eight people.

Fire authorities said the two fires appear unrelated as of now.

Local fire authorities launched a Level 1 response, deploying 115 personnel and 56 pieces of equipment to put out the fire. They will investigate the cause as soon as they extinguish the fire.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com