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| South Korea hospice fire kills 21 | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| At least 20 patients and a nurse have been killed in a fire at a hospice in Janseong county, South Korea. | |
| Six others are in critical condition after the fire at Hyosarang Hospital, about 300 km south of Seoul. | Six others are in critical condition after the fire at Hyosarang Hospital, about 300 km south of Seoul. |
| Most of those who died are thought to have been in their 70s and 80s, and confined to their beds. | Most of those who died are thought to have been in their 70s and 80s, and confined to their beds. |
| Officials said most of the people who died suffocated because of toxic fumes. The fire was put out within half an hour. | |
| The fire broke out shortly after midnight at a three-storey annex. | |
| Agencies report that many patients on an upper floor of the building were unable to evacuate as their rooms were filled with smoke from the fire. | |
| The nurse who died had been trying to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher, according to Agence-France Presse. | |
| Police said the building had recently undergone safety checks, reported Yonhap news agency. | |
| A director of the hospice, Lee Hyung-seok, apologised and told reporters: "I've committed a grave sin... There is no excuse when valuable lives were sacrificed." | |
| The incident comes at a time of mourning for South Korea after more than 300 people died in a ferry sinking last month. | The incident comes at a time of mourning for South Korea after more than 300 people died in a ferry sinking last month. |
| South Korean President Park Geun-hye has formally apologised to the nation for the ferry disaster, promising to improve safety standards. | South Korean President Park Geun-hye has formally apologised to the nation for the ferry disaster, promising to improve safety standards. |
| The prime minister at the time, Chung Hong-won, resigned over the government's handling of the disaster. | |
| The hospital incident also comes a day after seven people were killed and 20 others injured in a fire at a bus terminal in Goyang city. | The hospital incident also comes a day after seven people were killed and 20 others injured in a fire at a bus terminal in Goyang city. |