Death toll in South Korea hospital fire rises to 43

SEOUL - The death toll from a devastating hospital fire in South Korea rose to 43 on Monday (Feb 5), officials said, making it the country's deadliest blaze in 15 years.

Two men, both of them in their 80s, who had been treated in other hospitals since the fire late last month, succumbed to their injuries, said local authorities in Miryang.

A total of 149 people were injured, including one who is currently in a critical condition.

Fire ripped through the Sejong hospital in Miryang on Jan 26, sending toxic fumes sweeping through the six-storey building.

The latest deaths meant the toll surpassed the 40 people killed in a 2008 warehouse blaze in the city of Icheon, east of Seoul.

It is now South Korea's worst fire disaster since 2003, when an arson attack on a subway station in the southeastern city of Daegu killed 192 people.

Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the January blaze, but preliminary inspections have suggested possible defects in wiring in the ceiling of what used to be an office pantry.

Fingers have also been pointed at cheap but flammable construction materials, inadequate fire-blocking doors, illicit addition of rooms and a lack of staff.

While South Korea has risen to become the world's 11th largest economy, some of its infrastructure was built rapidly and it has a history of preventable disasters.

The hospital had 95 beds but no sprinkler system as it was not large enough to be required to do so under fire-prevention regulations.