A father and son, surnamed Nam, died early Wednesday in a fire at their traditional hanok house in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, fire authorities said.

The fire broke out around 3:55 a.m. Wednesday and burned through 50 square meters of the house, according to news reports. 



An 80-year-old woman, the wife of one victim and the mother of the other, was the only survivor. Her son, 54, jumped back into the burning house to save her sick 84-year-old husband, but the two could not escape after the roof collapsed, she said.

Some 30 firefighters and 12 firefighting vehicles responded to the fire. It took about an hour and 10 minutes to extinguish the flames. Authorities said the father’s body was discovered inside his room and the son’s body was close by.

Authorities will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

By Catherine Chung (cec82@heraldcorp.com)