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Fire Kills 29 People in South Korean City of Jecheon

by VOA News

   South Korea launched an investigation Friday into a fire that killed 29
   people in the central city of Jecheon.

   The National Fire Agency said most of the victims were killed in a
   sauna Thursday after the fire started in a vehicle and swept throughout
   the eight story building, trapping many people inside.

   One investigator told Reuters, "There were cars parked on the first
   floor and as they were burning, a large amount of toxic gases were
   released."

   One man is reported to have lost his mother, wife and daughter in the
   fire.

   A leg of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics torch relay was scheduled
   to pass through Jecheon Friday, but organizers called it off.

   The torch relay manager said, "We thought that having a torch relay at
   a place where so many people died in a fire accident is just not right,
   and therefore cancelled today's event in Jecheon."

   The Olympic Games begin in February.

   Jecheon is a scenic city with mountain and lakes that is located about
   118 kilometers southeast of the capital of Seoul.