Five people were killed and 10 others injured following a fire at a hotel in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, on Thursday, the firefighting authorities said.

According to the Gyeonggi Province firefighting headquarters, the fire began on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel at 7:39 p.m.

A firefighting official said the number of casualties could grow as firefighters were continuing to rescue the guests.

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min called for all-out efforts by firefighting authorities and the local government to extinguish the fire and rescue people using all available personnel and equipment.

Source: Yonhap News Agency