Police raid properties linked to fatal Bucheon hotel fire that claimed seven lives

Social Affairs

Police raid properties linked to fatal Bucheon hotel fire that claimed seven lives

Published: 27 Aug. 2024, 11:14

Officials from the Bucheon Hotel Fire Investigation Headquarters of the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency conduct on-site investigations on Monday. [YONHAP]

Police on Tuesday raided properties related to operators of a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, where a fatal blaze killed seven people last week.

The Bucheon Hotel Fire Investigation Headquarters of the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency dispatched 19 inspectors to search the residence of the hotel owner and manager, as well as four other locations, including a company responsible for the hotel's fire inspections. The raids began at 8:55 a.m. on Tuesday.

The inspection company had reportedly been conducting fire safety checks on the hotel for some time.

Police also booked the hotel manager, who was involved in the initial response to the fire, on charges of involuntary manslaughter due to negligence. This brings the total number of individuals booked in connection with the case to three, including two hotel owners.

The investigation revealed that the hotel conducted its own fire inspection in April and submitted the results to the Bucheon Fire Station. However, no significant issues were noted at the time, raising concerns that the inspection may have been merely a formality.

Police plan to analyze the items seized during the raids to further investigate the cause of the fire and determine how it spread so quickly, leading to multiple casualties.

To date, police have interviewed 24 individuals, including survivors, witnesses and hotel employees.

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, leading to the deaths of seven guests aged between their 20s and 50s. The victims, all Korean nationals, included four men and three women.

Twelve others were injured, including three seriously, and all were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police previously requested the National Forensic Service (NFS) to conduct autopsies on the bodies of the seven who died in the fire. In a preliminary verbal report, the NFS informed police that five of the deceased are presumed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, while two died from falling.

While the fire did not engulf the entire hotel building, toxic gases spread quickly inside the premises and sprinklers were not installed in the guest rooms, leading to greater damage.

Funeral procedures for the seven victims were completed on Monday.

The funerals of five of the seven victims were held Monday morning, according to the Bucheon city government. The funerals of the remaining two victims were completed on Sunday.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]