10 dead, 6 hurt in fire at S. Korea shooting range

BUSAN, South Korea, Nov. 15 Kyodo -
Ten people were killed and six injured in a fire at an indoor shooting range in
the South Korean port city of Busan on Saturday, according to South Korean
authorities.
The fire broke out around 2:25 p.m. and swept through the second-floor shooting
range of a five-story building before being extinguished about 40 minutes
later, according to the police.
Eleven Japanese belonging to two tour groups were at the range at the time of
the fire and the whereabouts of eight of them were unknown, according to the
Japanese Consulate General in Busan. Local police said they believe five
Japanese were among the dead but the other three were unaccounted for.
Three Japanese men were also among the injured and in serious condition.
One of them, Masaru Kasahara, 37, told Kyodo News at a local hospital where he is
being treated that he saw blazing red flames and heard an explosion.
''Then it became so dark I couldn't see anything and struggled to make my way
down the stairs. I have no memory of what happened after I saw a light,''
Kasahara said. He added that he has no idea what caused the blaze.
Kasahara and another injured Japanese man, Yohei Harada, 36, were wrapped in
bandages in an intensive care unit and not able to move their bodies. Harada
was on a respirator and was not able to speak. The third Japanese man who
suffered injuries has been identified as Akira Shimada, 37.
Most of the dead were believed to have died from severe burns and toxic smoke
inhalation, according to Yonhap News Agency.
''A black column of smoke soared into the sky right after a sudden bang near
the shooting range,'' Yonhap quoted witness Keum Seong Hwan as saying. ''A
group of Japanese tourists ran out of the building with fire on their bodies.''
The fire authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze and working to
identify the dead and injured. However, identification is proving difficult and
will likely require DNA testing.
According to the Japanese Consulate General in Busan, a South Korean woman who
was serving as the group's guide also suffered serious injuries.
Other Japanese tourists in the nine-member tour group at the shooting range
were identified as Hideteru Araki, 36, Atsunobu Inada, 37, Akira Okubo, 37,
Kazunobu Nakao, 37, Taiki Maeda, 36, and Hidetaka Miyazaki, 36.
The nine men are believed to be a group of former classmates at the same
elementary and junior high schools in Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture, who were
taking part in a tour organized by Shimatetsu Kanko of Shimabara in the
prefecture.
The police said the group crossed over to South Korea by ferry earlier in the
day and was scheduled to head home on Sunday.
According to the police, there was another Japanese tour group at the shooting
range consisting of two men from Fukuoka and Miyazaki prefectures. Yonhap,
quoting police officials, identified two Japanese other than the nine as
Masahiro Ochiai, 56, and Masanori Nagahama, 57.
Meanwhile, at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in
Singapore, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told South Korean President
Lee Myung Bak that he learned of the fire from news reports and requested
cooperation in confirming the safety of the Japanese nationals at the shooting
range.
Lee responded by saying, ''Let's work together.''
Busan is a popular destination for Japanese tourists due in part to its
proximity to Japan.
==Kyodo