10 killed, six injured in fire at indoor shooting range

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with latest casualties in headline, lead; ADDS details
throughout)

BUSAN, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- At least 10 people, some of them Japanese tourists,
were killed and six others injured on Saturday in a fire that swept through a
shooting range building in this southern port city, police said.
The blaze broke out at about 2:26 p.m. and was extinguished about 40 minutes
later, police said, adding that most of the dead were believed to have died from
severe burns and toxic smoke inhalations.
Police said those killed include at least two Japanese whose identity has yet to
be confirmed. At least four Japanese are among those injured, they said.
The Japanese arrived in Busan earlier in the day as a group for a two-day
sightseeing schedule, tourist officials and police said. When the fire broke out,
nine Japanese tourists were visiting the shooting range.
"A black column of smoke soared into the sky right after a sudden bang near the
shooting range," Keum Seong-hwan, a 51-year-old eyewitness said. "A group of
Japanese tourists ran out of the building with fire on their bodies.
Police said the death toll may rise, because some of those injured were in
critical condition.
"Those injured are now receiving medical treatment, but they got severely
burnt... the death toll may rise," one police officer said.
Police suspect that the fire started in a second-floor lounge of the five-story
building. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, they said.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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