Two elementary school siblings died overnight in a fire at a villa in Eunpyeong District, Seoul.
According to fire authorities on the 9th, a fire broke out at about 10:57 p.m. on the 3rd floor of a three-story-aboveground, one-story-underground villa in Galhyeon-dong, Eunpyeong District, Seoul, on the previous day.
The two elementary school students inside the building were taken to a hospital but died. The children who died were reported to be a brother and sister in second grade and first grade, respectively.
The father, the guardian at the time, was found to have been out before the fire started.
Two other residents inhaled smoke in the incident, and nine evacuated the building on their own.
Fire authorities were dispatched after a neighbor reported hearing an explosion followed by flames. A total of 82 personnel and 23 vehicles were mobilized, and the fire was fully extinguished at about 11:47 p.m., roughly 50 minutes after it started.
A neighbor who had gone outside to throw out the trash and witnessed the fire said, "I saw the lights (inside the home) flicker, then there was a pop and flames, and the window fell to the ground," adding, "I immediately told my son inside to get out quickly and call it in."
Another resident said, "I saw a grandmother and her grandson living next door (where the fire broke out) pleading for help."
Neighbors at the scene, upon hearing that the young siblings had lost their lives, could not hide their sorrow, saying, "How must the parents feel."
Tragedies in which a child left alone dies in a fire while a guardian is away have occurred before. In Jul. last year, a fire broke out at an apartment in Gijang County, Busan, while the parents were out, killing sisters in third grade and kindergarten. In 2023 in Ulsan, a 5-year-old child died in a fire that broke out while the father was away.
Police said they plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire through an on-site examination.