The fire broke out in the 33-story building around 11pm and was burning until Friday morning, officials told CNN. Photos of the scene show black smoke billowing over the building and debris strewn across the street.
No one has died yet. According to the Ulson Fire Department, 91 people were sent to the hospital for minor injuries such as smoke inhalation and abortion.
According to the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Security, people were rescued from the house, and six others were moved to a nearby hotel.
Ulsan is located near the city of Busan on the southeastern coast of South Korea.
The first emergency call was made by a resident on the 12th floor, but it’s not clear where the blaze started or what caused it, the fire department said. The ministry said it appeared to have spread from the lower one floor to the upper floor, which burned the outer wall of the building.
Officials said the fire department’s quick response was why there were no major casualties; Five minutes after the first call, firefighters arrived at the building.
More than 1,000 personnel were deployed, including 930 firefighters and 75 other emergency reporters, the fire department said.
According to the country’s government-funded news agency Yonhappa, strong winds spread the flames and made the fire completely difficult to control, with thorns wrapped for hours.
As of Friday morning, flames were still burning on the top three floors on the west side of the building, which was filled with winds from east to west, the fire department said. 200 firefighters are now shifting to find the floor of the building.
South Korea has faced several major fires in the past few years, the most recent of which is the fire in the city of Echeon this April. A fire at a construction site has killed at least 38 people and injured at least 10 others.
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