Fire in karaoke room kills many in South Korea

Seoul: A fire at a karaoke room in South Korea has killed eight people and seriously injured another, police said Thursday.

The fire broke out on Wednesday night at the underground facility with private karaoke rooms in the southern port city of Busan, and it was put out in less than an hour.

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but police officer Lim Won-seok at Busan's Yeongdo police station said they suspect it was started by an electrical short circuit.

Witness Jeong Giu-ok told cable news channel YTN, "smoke suddenly appeared and people immediately came out and called a local fire station."

Police and hospital officials said eight people died and a female karaoke employee has sunk into a coma and been placed on life support in a hospital.

Lim said the eight dead were from a shipbuilding company in Busan.