Fire breaks out on Seoul subway

[Anchor]

It was a moment when a weekend morning suddenly turned into terror.

A fire caused by arson broke out inside a Seoul Subway Line 5 train.

The scene of passengers evacuating into the underground tunnel shows the urgency of the situation at that time.

It was a situation that could have led to a major loss of life.
Today (May 31), our first report will be the subway fire.

Reporter Bae Ji-hyun.

[Report]

Passengers jumped out of the train filled with thick smoke and hurriedly evacuated along the tracks.

In fear, they called their families as they move along.

[Fire train passenger/family call: "I'm out and walking. (Hurry, hurry, run outside faster!) I'm still going. (Are there a lot of people?) Yes, everyone is evacuating, it's chaos."]

This morning, a fire caused by arson broke out inside a Seoul Subway Line 5 train that was in operation.

["I don't know, apparently someone sprayed gasoline, but I don't know..."]

The train was heading from Yeouinaru Station to Mapo Station when the fire broke out, causing passengers to activate the emergency handles and open the doors, stopping the train between stations.

After that, passengers evacuated through the tunnel to a nearby station.

The train driver and some passengers immediately began to extinguish the fire, which was completely put out after 1 hour and 40 minutes.

[Kim Jin-cheol/Head of Fire Administration, Mapo Fire Station: "It seems that the fire was initially set on flammable materials, along with trash and clothing. The conductor and a few passengers extinguished the fire themselves using the fire extinguishers inside the train."]

As a result of the fire, 21 out of about 400 passengers suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation and were transported to the hospital, and service on part of Line 5 toward Hanam Macheon was temporarily suspended.

[Kim Eun-ha/Fire train passenger: "The fire broke out suddenly. I think it was in the next car. People started rushing. It was chaotic. I was so weak that I fell over, my shoes came off, and I was stepped on..."]

About an hour after the fire broke out, police arrested a suspect for arson at Yeouinaru Station.

The police are investigating the details of the arson after booking the man in his 60s who was apprehended.

This is KBS News Bae Ji-hyun.