A fire broke out at a 16-story apartment building in Seoul’s southern district of Gangnam, leaving about 40 residents fleeing for safety and two others, including an 11-month-old baby, hospitalized, officials said Thursday.

The blaze occurred on the 10th floor of the apartment in Yeoksam-dong at 1:22 p.m., officials said.

An engineer who was fixing the air conditioning in the household where the fire erupted was taken to a hospital with burns on his hands and for smoke inhalation, and an 11-month-old boy on the ninth floor was also hospitalized for breathing in smoke.

Seven others were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The fire services mobilized 286 personnel and 45 pieces of equipment and brought the blaze under control by 3:22 p.m. They were working to completely extinguish any leftover flames.

Fourteen residents evacuated to the rooftop of the building under guidance from firefighters, three others to the ground floor, and 22 people escaped on their own.

The apartment where the fire erupted
is home to 178 residents from 48 households.

Firefighting officials completely blocked off six lanes of a nearby road to stamp out the fire and restore the charred area. They plan to look into the exact causes of the fire and the scope of damage as soon as the blaze is completely put out.

Source: Yonhap News Agency