10 die in South Korea hospital fire

SEOUL - At least 10 women were killed and 17 injured when a fire engulfed a hospital for women Friday in a port city in South Korea, a media report said.

The fire broke out at around 4.30 a.m., scorching the two-storey building in Pohang city, 374 km south of Seoul. Twenty fire trucks were sent to control the fire.

The cause of the fire in the private hospital was unclear, Xinhua reported citing Yonhap news agency.

Most of the dead were in the age group of 71 to 90. Many of them suffocated to death as their illnesses made it difficult to quickly evacuate the scene, officials said.

President Lee Myung-bak has expressed grief over the tragedy, his spokesperson said.