Police Conduct Search and Seizure at Bucheon Hotel Site of Fire Causing 7 Deaths and Owner's Residence

The police launched a forced investigation into the residence of the hotel owner and other locations five days after the hotel fire occurred in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Hotel fire scene in Bucheon, Gyeonggi. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Bucheon Hotel Fire Investigation Headquarters of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency announced that from 8:55 a.m. on the 27th, they are conducting a search and seizure at four locations, including the hotel where the fire broke out, the owner's residence, and the office of the company responsible for fire inspections.

The company has been in charge of the hotel's fire inspections since the past and is known to have conducted an inspection once again in April of this year. The police plan to investigate the cause of the fire's spread through analysis of the seized items.

Earlier, the police criminally charged Mr. A, a man in his 40s who is the hotel owner, and Mr. B, a man in his 40s who is the nominal owner, with professional negligence resulting in death and injury, and imposed a travel ban. They conducted witness interviews with 15 people, including survivors, witnesses, and employees of the incident.

The police requested an autopsy of the seven deceased from the National Forensic Service and received a preliminary verbal opinion stating that "five of the deceased are presumed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, and the remaining two are presumed to have died from falls."

The fire occurred at 7:34 p.m. on the 22nd at a hotel in Jung-dong, Bucheon, causing seven deaths and 12 injuries. Although the flames did not spread throughout the entire hotel, toxic gas rapidly filled the interior, and the damage was severe because sprinklers were not installed in the guest rooms.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.