Hotel Fire in Bucheon, South Korea Kills Seven

A tragic hotel fire in Bucheon, South Korea, has claimed the lives of seven people and left 12 others injured, with three in critical condition. The blaze ignited on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel around 7:40 p.m. on Thursday and was extinguished approximately two hours later. Reports indicate that among the deceased were guests who attempted to escape by jumping from windows onto an air mattress, which overturned on impact. The hotel, built in 2003, did not have sprinklers as they were not required at the time of construction. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, while rescue efforts involved around 70 vehicles and 160 firefighters. This incident follows a previous disaster in June, where 23 people died in a fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea.