[News Today] 7 KILLED IN BUCHEON HOTEL FIRE

[LEAD]
A devastating fire occurred at a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggido Province overnight. Seven people died, and twelve were injured. Fire and police authorities are set to conduct a joint forensic investigation to determine the precise cause of the fire.

[REPORT]
Flames belch out from a hotel room window.

Firefighters spray water and manage to tame the blaze as windows now spew out black smoke.

Go Ha-neul / Witness
The smoke didn't abate and the smell worsened. So officials got to the point of breaking into the windows to save lives.

Guests who inhaled the smoke are brought out on stretchers while some make daring escapades, jumping from windows down to an air mattress laid out by fire authorities. Fire officials also break windows to get people still stuck in the building out, but to little avail.

Witness/
I saw 2-3 people carried out on stretchers. Two were unconscious and one person was awake.

The fire started at around 7:40 p.m. Thursday.

In 20 minutes of receiving the report, authorities started to put out the fire, issuing a level 2 response which calls for mobilizing resources from several fire stations in the vicinity.

The fire was brought under control after 3 hours but 7 people lost their lives and 12 others were injured.

Glass debris from broken windows scatter around the hotel and traces of the extinguishing effort lay bear in the hotel lobby.

The fire is believed to have started on the 8th floor, room 810 to be exact.

A guest initially staying in that room asked for a room change, citing a burning smell and so there was no one in 810 at the time of the fire.

Lee Sang-don / Bucheon Fire Station
I heard that a guest asked for a different room saying there was burning smell.

Police and fire officials are launching a joint investigation on Friday to determine the cause of the blaze.