[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL -- Three people were killed and 30 others were injured in a Sunday night arson attack on a live music cafe packed with middle-aged music lovers and villagers from an island in the southwestern port city of Gunsan.
In a midnight manhunt, police arrested a 55-year-old man identified by his surname Lee living in Gunsan some 180 kilometers (111 miles) southwest of Seoul at the house of his friend. The clumsy arsonist told police he was infuriated by the owner of the cafe overcharging him.
It was filled with about 40 people who came across from a nearby island to enjoy drinks and live music, when Lee poured gasoline at the entrance of the cafe at 9:53 p.m. (1253 GMT) and set it ablaze, creating an explosion that hurt himself.
The blaze rapidly spread into the cafe, turning it into pandemonium. As the stage, tables and sofas were engulfed in flames and smoke that blinded panicked people desperately looking for a fire exit. Some managed to escape while others collapsed to the floor after inhaling smoke.
"People got tangled to each other when they tried to escape. It was like a war zone," Yoo, the 55-year-old owner of the cafe, told investigators. The survivors were lucky because the cafe was located on the ground floor. "The death toll must have been higher if it was located in the basement," a firefighter told reporters.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
