Thick black smoke billows into the sky from above a building.

Fires broke out simultaneously at two buildings located in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, this morning (October 20), leaving 19 people injured.

Around 11:50 a.m. today, a fire broke out on the third floor of a building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, leaving one person in cardiac arrest who was transported to the hospital, along with 10 others injured.

Some 60 people inside the building evacuated on their own.

Another fire broke out around 12:00 p.m. on the fourth floor of a nearby building, injuring eight people.

Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response, mobilizing 115 personnel and 56 pieces of equipment to extinguish the fires.

Fire and police authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fires once they are fully extinguished.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Min-ji | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News