‘Mom, Dad, I don’t think I can hold on’: Bucheon blaze victim makes final phone call to parents

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‘Mom, Dad, I don’t think I can hold on’: Bucheon blaze victim makes final phone call to parents

Published: 23 Aug. 2024, 11:32 Updated: 23 Aug. 2024, 17:40

A fire broke out at a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, Thursday evening, leading to seven deaths and 12 injuries. [YONHAP]

A 28-year-old victim of the deadly hotel blaze that claimed seven lives in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, on Thursday night made a final phone call to her parents to say goodbye, her father said on Friday.

"Mom, Dad, I don't think I can hold on for even five minutes. You have to live well, even for my sake," the victim, named Kim, told her 56-year-old father during their last phone call, her father said to the JoongAng Ilbo at Incheon St. Mary's Hospital Funeral Hall in Bupyeong District, Incheon, at 2 a.m. on Friday.

Seven people were killed and a dozen others injured in the blaze at a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, authorities said.

The tragic incident occurred on the birthday of Kim's father. "I can't believe I have to prepare a memorial table for my daughter on my birthday," the father said, choking back tears.

Kim was the family's breadwinner. Her father said she worked at a mobile phone store during the day and took on a part-time job at a fast-food restaurant late into the night. Recently, she enrolled in an open university to continue the education she had previously put on hold.

The fire erupted on the eighth floor of a nine-story hotel in Jung-dong in Wonmi District, Bucheon, at 7:39 p.m. on Thursday. Among the seven lives lost were guests in their 20s and 50s, according to fire officials and police on Friday.

The victims, all Korean nationals, included four men and three women, said police.

Twelve others were injured, with three in serious condition, and were taken to the hospital for treatment. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

"Around the time the fire alarm went off, I heard people screaming and then saw smoke," said a Chinese national in their 40s who was staying on the hotel's fifth floor, in an interview with local media outlet Yonhap News. "I quickly realized there was a fire and, without having a chance to pack my belongings, evacuated with my group."

Most of the casualties were from the eighth and ninth floors, near Room 810, which is suspected to be the fire's origin, according to authorities.

A man and a woman in their 30s and 40s died after jumping from their eighth-floor room onto an inflatable fire rescue mattress placed outside the hotel, according to Lee Sang-don, chief of the fire prevention division at the Bucheon Fire Department, during an on-site briefing.

"The mattress was initially set up correctly but flipped over after they jumped," said Lee.

The image shows an inflatable fire rescue mattress installed in front of the building (left) flipped upright onto its side (right) after a woman jumped. The man then attempted to jump onto the mattress, but he fell to the ground. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

According to a video captured by a witness, the woman jumped first but only landed on the edge of the inflatable fire rescue mattress and then hit the ground. This caused the mattress to flip upright onto its side. The man then attempted to jump onto the mattress, but he fell to the ground too.

Another woman was found in cardiac arrest in the stairwell of the eighth floor and was taken to the hospital but did not survive.

Although the fire in Room 810 did not spread to the rest of the building, it produced significant smoke and toxic gas, which are believed to have caused the majority of the casualties, according to authorities.

"By the time first responders arrived, the hotel was already filled with smoke," Lee said. "The smoke was pouring out of the guest room windows."

Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze at 10:26 p.m., nearly three hours after it began.

The hotel has 64 rooms and was housing 27 guests on the day of the fire.

Room 810 was unoccupied when the fire began, according to authorities. The investigation revealed that a guest who entered Room 810 on the day of the fire reported smelling smoke and requested a room change.

A Level 1 emergency response was activated within three minutes of the fire report, followed by a Level 2 response within 18 minutes. More than 70 vehicles, including pump trucks, and 160 firefighters were deployed to control the blaze and carry out rescue operations.

More than 90 police officers and 60 city officials also assisted with perimeter control and rescue efforts.

The emergency response was lifted at 10:35 p.m. on Thursday.

The hotel, built in 2004, does not have sprinklers installed in its rooms. Since 2017, new buildings over six stories must be equipped with sprinklers on every floor due to revised laws, but this regulation does not apply retroactively, leaving older buildings more susceptible to fire.

Fire authorities conduct a joint investigation with related agencies to determine the cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage. [YONHAP]

Fire authorities conducted a joint investigation with related agencies from 11 a.m. to 12 :30 p.m. Friday to determine the cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage.

Fire officials currently suspect electrical issues are the most likely cause, which Cho Sun-ho, Chief of Fire Authorities in Gyeonggi, told Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety, during his visit to the site on Friday morning.

Cho Yong-ik, head of Bucheon City, said during a Friday briefing that the city will support the affected families "from funeral to cortege" by assigning a public official to each victim.

The casualties have been sent to six different medical institutions, including Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital, according to Kim In-jae, director of the Bucheon Public Health Center.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon visited the fire site on Friday afternoon and said that the party would look into any issues related to the fire.

Update, Aug. 23: Further details on victims and the expected cause of the fire.

BY WOO JI-WON, LEE YOUNG-KEUN [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]