Woman injured in Gyeongsan apartment arson dies during treatment

A woman in her 50s who suffered burns in an arson fire at an apartment complex in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, has died during treatment.

According to the North Gyeongsang Province Police Agency, the woman, identified only as A, sustained full-body burns in a fire set at the management office of an apartment complex in Gyeongsan on Thursday morning and was pronounced dead Friday morning.

A had been transferred to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Seoul, where she was pronounced dead at around 11:10 a.m. Friday.

Following her death, police upgraded the charges against the suspected arsonist, a man in his 70s identified only as B, from arson of an inhabited building causing injury to arson of an inhabited building causing death and injury.

The fire broke out at around 8:29 a.m. Thursday at the management office of an apartment complex in Sadong, Gyeongsan, when B allegedly set it ablaze. Eight people, including A and B, were injured.

Police are investigating the accelerant B used to start the fire and the exact circumstances of the incident through forensic analysis.