Seven killed in S. Korea bus terminal fire

At least seven people were killed and two dozen injured in a fire at a bus terminal near Seoul on Monday, AFP reports according to emergency officials.

It was the latest in a series of deadly transport-linked accidents in South Korea which is still reeling from the loss of around 300 lives -- mostly schoolchildren -- in a ferry disaster last month.

The fire department said the blaze at the terminal in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, was likely started by welding work being carried out in an underground construction site, Yonhap news agency reported.

Most of the deaths and injuries were the result of smoke inhalation.

The five-story terminal building has several bays that can station 250 buses, and a multiplex composed of a shopping center, a supermarket and a movie theatre.

Firefighters took about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control.

As well as the ferry disaster in April, public confidence was shaken earlier this month by a subway train collision in Seoul that injured around 200 people.