At Least 20 Killed After Fire Races Through Boat in S. Korea

At least 20 people were killed Monday and at least 12 were missing or feared dead after fire raced through a packed pleasure boat, a police officer said today.

He said soldiers recovered 12 more badly charred bodies from the burned-out hulk of the boat after eight deaths were confirmed overnight. “I believe there are still more bodies inside,” the officer told reporters.

The boat, carrying 134 people, including three crew, was cruising on Chungju Lake near Danyang, 75 miles southeast of Seoul, when it caught fire.

The fire engulfed the boat, but about 100 passengers jumped into the lake and were rescued by passing boats and police, witnesses said.

Police said the captain of the 54-ton boat, Moon Se Kwon, survived and was being questioned.

Television pictures showed the boat consumed by flames. A witness said the fire started at the rear of the boat and engulfed the whole vessel in 10 minutes.

The Yonhap domestic news agency quoted survivors as saying the fire started in an engine.

Yonhap said many passengers jumped into the water to escape the fire. Others were taken off by a passing pleasure boat.

“I was on the deck and saw black smoke belching out from near the engine room,” passenger Lee Un Bong, 57, was quoted as saying.

Lee said many passengers reached the passing boat with the aid of ropes and life jackets.

The ship was on a 10-mile cruise from Chungju to Danyang, two towns on Chungju Lake 60 miles southeast of Seoul. The three-deck, 86-foot-long ship was reportedly built in 1986.

The accident follows a major disaster in Seoul on Friday when 32 people were killed and 17 injured after a bridge collapsed without warning during the morning rush hour.

The boat fire will add to the embarrassment of the government of President Kim Young Sam, who has promised to deal severely with those responsible for the Seoul disaster.

Monday evening, Kim gave a television address to the nation in which he apologized for the bridge collapse.