An explosion at a restaurant inside a commercial building in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, injured 15 residents.
According to fire authorities on the 13th, around 4 a.m. there was an explosion at a first-floor restaurant in a three-story commercial building in Bongmyeong-dong, Heungdeok District, Cheongju. All the shops in the building were closed at the time.
The force of the gas explosion shattered windowpanes and other glass in nearby buildings in succession, and eight people, including residents of nearby detached dwellings who were asleep, were hit by glass fragments and suffered lacerations or cuts. All were taken to hospitals for treatment, and the other seven were reported not to be injured badly enough to require hospital transport.
Fire authorities and others are focusing on an explosion caused by a gas leak and are investigating the exact circumstances and the extent of the damage.