At around 4:37 PM on the 3rd, a fire broke out in the BYC Building, a complex commercial building with 5 basement floors and 8 above-ground floors, located in Yatap-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. The large flames were brought under control within about 30 minutes.
The fire reportedly started in the kitchen of a restaurant located on the first floor of the building.
The fire department received reports that many people were trapped inside the building and, fearing casualties, proactively issued a Level 2 response. They then mobilized 41 pieces of equipment and 103 personnel to extinguish the fire, completing the initial suppression by 5:16 PM.
As of 5:30 PM, the fire department announced that about 40 people had been rescued and around 50 people evacuated on their own.
Most of those rescued suffered minor injuries such as smoke inhalation, and there were no reports of seriously injured individuals among the rescued. However, since rescue operations are still ongoing, the exact extent of the damage is expected to be known later.
A police official at the scene stated, "Those rescued are injured mainly due to smoke inhalation, and there have been no reports of serious injuries so far."
The fire department plans to continue searching inside the building and will investigate the detailed cause of the fire once the remaining flames are fully extinguished.
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