Police and fire authorities investigating the cause of a fire at a capsule-style lodging in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, will conduct a second forensic inspection.
An official at the Korean National Police Agency stated accordingly at a regular press briefing on the 16th. Police and fire authorities said that in the first inspection the previous day, they confirmed that a specific point within the densely packed capsule area was intensely charred and are presuming that as the point of ignition.
However, they plan to determine the specific cause of the fire through additional inspections. Based on statements from guests at the time, arson has reportedly been ruled out.
A Japanese woman in her 50s who was seriously injured in the fire is still reported to be unconscious.
On the 14th at about 6:10 p.m., a fire broke out at a capsule hotel in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, injuring 10 people including guests.
A capsule-style lodging has a structure where single beds that one person can lie in are stacked like a honeycomb. Low room rates are a strength, but narrow corridors and other features make it hard to evacuate in a fire.
Fire authorities, expecting an influx of foreign tourists seeking capsule-style lodgings ahead of BTS's concert, decided to conduct emergency safety inspections of all 5,481 such places in Seoul through the 19th.