Elementary School Siblings Die in Apartment Fire in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, While Guardian Was Out

Two elementary school students have died following a fire at a villa in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.

According to fire authorities on Thursday (July 9), the blaze broke out at 10:57 p.m. the previous night on the third floor of a four-story villa (three floors above ground, one basement level) in Galhyeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu.

The two children, a boy and a girl who were inside the building, were transported to a hospital but ultimately passed away.

They were reportedly siblings in the second and first grades of elementary school, respectively.

It was determined that their father, who is their guardian, had gone out before the fire started.

Additionally, two other residents suffered from smoke inhalation, and nine others evacuated on their own.

Fire authorities, who were dispatched following reports from neighbors who heard an explosion, mobilized 82 personnel and 23 vehicles to fully extinguish the fire at 11:47 p.m., about 50 minutes after it began.

A neighbor who was outside taking out the trash and witnessed the start of the fire described the scene, saying, "I saw flickering lights inside the house, then there was a loud bang, and the fire broke out, and the window fell to the ground. I immediately told my son, who was inside our house, to come out quickly and report it."

Another resident also said, "I saw the grandmother and grandson living next door (to where the fire started) calling for help."

Neighbors gathered at the scene expressed their deep sorrow, saying, "How heartbroken the parents must be."

Tragedies involving children left home alone dying in fires while their guardians were away have occurred repeatedly in the past.

In July of last year, a fire broke out at an apartment in Gijang-gun, Busan, while the parents were away, resulting in the deaths of two sisters, one in the third grade of elementary school and the other in kindergarten. In 2023, a similar tragedy occurred in Ulsan, where a 5-year-old child died in a fire while the father was out.

The police plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire by conducting a forensic examination of the scene.

(Photo: Provided by Seoul Eunpyeong Fire Station, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.