Fire takes 7 lives at singing bar

Seven people, including customers and employees, lost their lives to fire at a "Dan-lan-ju-jom," a singing bar, in the city of Songnam, Kyonggi Province at about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

At the time of the fire, there were 15 employees -- 13 women and two men -- as well as five customers. The deceased were taken to the Cha and Songnam hospitals, but as their bodies have been burned beyond recognition, identities of the bodies remain unknown.

The fire, which occurred in the basement of the six-story building, completely burned the 67-pyong bar prior to the dousing of the fire by firemen at 9:40.

"I was serving in one of the rooms, and I noticed smoke coming from the space between the door of room number one and the floor,¡± according to a witness at the fire, identified only as Lee, 18, an employee, ¡°When I opened the door, the fire burst out and spread throughout the bar. At the time there were about 20 or so people, employees and customers."

The fire spread quickly, feeding on the extremely flammable polystyrene walls and carpet. The deceased were in the fifth room down from the exit and were unable to escape. Fleeing further into the bar away from the fire and the exit, the deceased might have died from smoke inhalation.

Suspecting an electric short circuit as the cause of the fire, which started in an empty room, the police are interviewing the bar's owner for further investigation.