Police: SKorean fire likely caused by electrical fault

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — A hospital fire that killed 37 people in South Korea was most likely caused by an electrical fault in the first-floor emergency room, police said Saturday.

A joint investigation carried out by police, fire services and forensic experts concluded that a fault in the electrical system in the ceiling of the emergency room’s pantry most likely sparked Friday’s blaze in the southern city of Miryang, said Kim Han-su, a police official there.

The blaze was South Korea’s deadliest in more than a decade.

President Moon Jae-in visited the site Saturday and vowed to raise safety standards for hospitals. He also met with the victims’ grieving relatives.

Officials say the six-floor facility did not have sprinklers because it wasn’t big enough to be required by law to have such systems.

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Police said 34 of the dead were women and 26 were aged 80 or older.

The Associated Press