A fire broke out on the Seoul Subway Line 5 on the 31st.
According to the fire authorities, the fire occurred around 8:47 a.m. on a train traveling between Yeoinaru Station and Mapo Station on Line 5.
The train operator and some passengers used fire extinguishers to control the blaze, and the fire was completely extinguished by around 10:24 a.m. A total of 230 personnel, including 166 firefighters and 60 police officers, were deployed to the scene along with 68 firefighting equipment.
A fire official noted, “As soon as the fire broke out, citizens extinguished the flames with the fire extinguishers available on the train,” adding that “by the time the firefighters arrived, the initial fire control had already been completed.”
The cause of the fire is arson. According to the police, a man in his 60s boarded the subway carrying a gasoline can and set the fire. This man fled but was arrested by police at Yeouido Station.
More than 400 passengers evacuated through the tunnel, and 21 of them were transported to the hospital due to smoke inhalation and ankle fractures.