South Korean police seek arsonist after deadly apartment fire in Seoul

Seoul, South Korea: South Korean police said Monday that they were looking for a man who appeared to have set fire to an apartment building in Seoul, killing one person and injuring 11 others, two of them seriously.

The fire was first reported at 8:17 am Monday in a 21-story apartment building in the Bongcheon district of southern Seoul, firefighters said. Local news media carried photos and a video clip showing most of the building engulfed in smoke billowing out of its fourth floor. The fire was extinguished in a little over an hour.

One man was found dead with burns, firefighters said, and two residents -- women in their 70s and 80s -- were seriously injured when they fell from the fourth floor. The others who were injured reported breathing difficulties and other issues from inhaling smoke.

Police in the Gwanak borough of Seoul, which includes Bongcheon, said they were looking for a man in his 60s who witnesses said started the fire with what looked like a pesticide sprayer filled with a flammable liquid.