South Korea Hospital Fire Kills 41, Injures 79 (PHOTO, VIDEO)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A blaze at a hospital in the South Korean city of Milyang early on Friday killed 41 people and injured 79, country's president has called an emergency meeting.

Authorities said most of the casualties were patients, according to the Yonhap news agency. Thirty-eight injured people were being treated at nearby clinics.

According to local media, the death toll from the devastating fire has gone up to 41.

Earlier, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called an emergency meeting as death toll from the fire continued to rise reaching 33 from earlier reported 31.

The injured toll has also risen from 40 to 79 with 9 of them in critical condition, Yonhap reported.

Earlier, Yonhap reported 8 people dead and 40 injured in the blaze. Reuters has quoted a fire station official earlier as saying that the situation was developing quickly and the death toll was expected to rise further.

A hundred patients were believed to have been trapped inside the burning building, the outlet said, with more than 90 residents of an adjoining nursing home evacuated right away.

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© REUTERS / Kim Dong-min/Yonhap

A patient is rescued from a burning hospital in Miryang, South Korea, January 26, 2018. via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.

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© REUTERS / Kim Dong-min/Yonhap

Firefighters put out a fire at a burning hospital in Miryang, South Korea, January 26, 2018. via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.

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© REUTERS / Kim Dong-min/Yonhap

Firefighters put out a fire at a burning hospital in Miryang, South Korea, January 26, 2018. Kim Dong-min/Yonhap via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.

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© REUTERS / Kim Dong-min/Yonhap

A patient is rescued from a burning hospital in Miryang, South Korea, January 26, 2018. via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.

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© REUTERS / Kim Dong-min/Yonhap

Firefighters put out a fire at a burning hospital in Miryang, South Korea, January 26, 2018. via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.

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© REUTERS / Kim Dong-min/Yonhap

Firefighters put out a fire at a burning hospital in Miryang, South Korea, January 26, 2018. Kim Dong-min/Yonhap via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.

Authorities reported that the fire suspected to have started in the emergency room of the main building of Sejong hospital.