The fire that broke out at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul was extinguished in just over two hours.
According to fire authorities on April 25, a report was received at 11:06 a.m. that a fire had started at a restaurant on the second floor of COEX, and firefighting efforts began. The fire department deployed 121 personnel and 33 vehicles, bringing the main blaze under control in about 30 minutes, at around 11:42 a.m., and fully extinguishing the fire by 1:14 p.m. No casualties have been reported.
However, due to the fire, approximately 1,200 people?including COEX visitors, employees, and workers from nearby commercial facilities?were evacuated outside the building. At one point, the entire Samseong-dong area was shrouded in black smoke as a result of the fire.
The police and fire authorities believe the fire started in the kitchen hood (ventilation system) of the restaurant, and plan to conduct a detailed investigation into the exact cause of the fire.
Meanwhile, the '2025 World IT Show (WIS)', the largest information and communications technology (ICT) exhibition in Korea, which was being held at COEX, was temporarily suspended due to the fire but later resumed.
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