PUBLISHED ONOctober 22, 2025 4:12 AMBYCandice CaiA new mother in South Korea died on Monday (Oct 20) while escaping from a fire started by a neighbour who was trying to kill a cockroach using a homemade flamethrower.
The fire had broken out at about 5.35am on the second floor of a five-storey commercial-residential building in Osan, Gyeonggi province, according to Korean news sources.
The deceased, said to be a Chinese woman in her 30s, had fallen from her window on the top floor during the family's attempt to escape.
Police stated that the couple were unable to use the emergency staircase due to thick smoke from the blaze, as they feared the impact of smoke inhalation on their newborn, reported The Korea Herald.
Through their window, the woman and her husband managed to pass their two-month-old baby to occupants in an adjacent building, which was less than a metre away, The Korea Herald reported.
While her husband also made it across, the woman slipped and fell while making her escape and was taken to hospital, but she died of her injuries later that morning, Korea Joongang Daily reported.
Eight other people in the building were treated for injuries due to smoke inhalation.
According to Korean media outlets, the source of the fire was traced to their neighbour, a woman in her 20s living on the second floor. She had reportedly tried to kill cockroaches in her home using a lighter and aerosol spray, effectively creating a small flamethrower.
However, the method — which she'd learnt from YouTube — backfired, as the fire spread to the bed and piles of trash nearby, reported The Korea Times.
Fire fighters called to the scene managed to extinguish the blaze within 40 minutes.
Police stated that they plan to seek an arrest warrant for the neighbour on at least two charges, including involuntary manslaughter.
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candicecai@asiaone.com