RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
News this morning out of South Korea. A fire broke out in a hospital emergency room there and killed at least three dozen people. NPR's Elise Hu has more.
ELISE HU, BYLINE: So far, investigators don't know what started the flames, but they can speak of the fire's casualties. Most of the people killed were sick and elderly patients, the Sejong Hospital director says. One nurse, one doctor and a nursing assistant were also killed.
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SEOK JEONG-SIK: (Speaking Korean).
HU: "I am truly sorry. I'm sorry for the patients and their caretakers," Director Seok Jeong-sik said. At the scene in the southeastern Korean town of Miryang, investigators are poring over the scene of the fire that spread fast from a main stairwell and took two hours to put out. Fire Chief Choi Man-woo briefed reporters.
CHOI MAN-WOO: (Through interpreter) When I arrived at the scene, the flames and smoke were so severe, the sky was almost dark.
HU: Choi said his crews rushed to transfer patients to nearby facilities, but many died after the moves. With the death count near 40, this tragedy is already among the deadliest fires in South Korean history.
Elise Hu, NPR News, Seoul.