A South Korean woman faces criminal charges after her attempt to kill a cockroach with a homemade flamethrower ignited a deadly apartment fire in Osan city.
Police confirmed they will seek an arrest warrant for the suspect in her twenties, whose use of flammable spray and a lighter to target the insect accidentally set her unit ablaze Monday.
The fire claimed the life of a Chinese national in her thirties who fell from a fifth-floor window while attempting to escape with her husband and two-month-old infant.
The victim's husband successfully reached an adjacent building after they passed their baby to neighbors through the window, but the woman fell during her escape attempt and later died at a hospital.
Authorities indicated the couple chose window escape because dense smoke blocked stairwell access in the mixed-use building containing 32 residential units above commercial establishments.
Eight additional residents sustained smoke inhalation injuries during the emergency that required hospitalization.
The suspect told investigators she had previously used the flamethrower method for pest control, reflecting a dangerous trend popularized through social media videos demonstrating blowtorch insect elimination.
In addition to that, similar incidents include a 2018 Australian kitchen fire started by cockroach extermination attempts using aerosol-based flamethrowers, highlighting global safety concerns regarding unconventional pest control methods.