South Korea hospital fire kills 31, injures 70; President convenes emergency meeting

A fire in a South Korean hospital killed 31 people and injured more than 70, a fire station official said on Friday, with eight of those injured listed as being in critical condition.

The fire started at around 7.30 a.m. (2230 GMT) at the rear of the emergency room on the first floor of Sejong Hospital and it was mostly extinguished after a few hours, Choi Man-woo, the head of Miryang city's fire station, told a televised media briefing.

Miryang is about 270 km (170 miles) southeast of the capital, Seoul. The Yonhap news agency had earlier put the death toll at 33.

Firefighters had evacuated around roughly 200 people from the main hospital building and nursing home directly behind the hospital, Choi said.

Eight people were listed as critically injured and 69 slightly injured by 0153 GMT. Most of those who died were on the first and second floors of the hospital, he said.

There were no deaths from burns, Choi said, and officials were investigating the reason for the blaze.

The presidential Blue House in Seoul said in a mobile message President Moon Jae-in had called an emergency meeting of his aides to address measures regarding the fire.

Earlier on Friday, news channel YTN showed black smoke billowing from the windows and entrance to the hospital and flames flickering.

At least one patient was shown being carried from the hospital on another person's back, covered in blankets.

People evacuated from the hospital were being treated at four other hospitals nearby, YTN said.

The fire comes just a month after 29 people were killed in a blaze at an eight-storey fitness centre in Jecheon City.