S. Korean woman dies saving her baby from building fire sparked by neighbour trying to kill a cockroach
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The fire was sparked by a second-floor resident who tried to kill a cockroach using a lighter and aerosol spray.
PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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SEOUL - A woman in her 30s died on Oct 21 while escaping a fire started by a neighbour, falling from a window after first getting her infant child to safety.
According to Osan Police Station, the fire broke out on Oct 20 at a five-story commercial-residential building in Osan, Gyeonggi province, at around 5.35am local time.
It was sparked by a second-floor resident who tried to kill a cockroach using a lighter and aerosol spray, an ill-advised method she said she learnt from YouTube. The fire quickly got out of control.
During evacuation, a family living on the fifth floor – a couple and their two-month-old child – tried to escape into a building that was less than 1m apart from theirs.
After handing the baby through a window to people in the next building, the husband followed, but the wife fell and sustained critical injuries. She was taken to the nearby Ajou University Hospital for treatment, but was pronounced dead at around 10.40am local time.
No other deaths were reported, but eight people were treated for smoke inhalation. Fire authorities managed to extinguish the flames in about 40 minutes.
Police investigation revealed that the victim and her family were unable to escape through the emergency staircase due to heavy smoke, fearing its impact on the newborn.
Officials will request an arrest warrant for the second-floor resident who started the fire, on charges of fire caused by gross negligence and death by negligence. THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
