'At least 10 killed' in S.Korean fire

At least ten people including two Japanese tourists were killed and six others injured in a blaze at an indoor shooting range in South Korea on Saturday, police and reports said.

The blaze broke out at about 2:26 pm (0526 GMT) and was extinguished 40 minutes later, Yonhap news agency quoted police as saying, adding that most of the dead were believed to have succumbed to severe burns and smoke inhalation.

The fire, in the southern city of Busan, gutted the facility on the second floor of a five-storey building, Yonhap said.

The death toll was expected to rise because some of the injured were in a serious condition, the report said, quoting police.

Witness Geum Seong-Hwan, 51, said he heard a blast from the shooting range.

"I heard an explosion and a large plume of black smoke billowed up. Then I saw some people with their clothes on fire came out," he told Yonhap.

An investigation to determine the cause of the fire was under way.