Gas Explosion Suspected in Uiwang Apartment Fire That Killed Married Couple; Wife May Have Died Before the Blaze

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[The Financial News]  A gas explosion has been identified as the likely cause of the apartment fire in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, which left a married couple dead and six others injured.
According to Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) on the 1st, the Gyeonggi Uiwang Police Station, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's forensic team, the National Forensic Service (NFS), and the Gyeonggi-do Fire Disaster Headquarters carried out an on-site inspection that morning, focusing on the 14th-floor unit where the fire broke out.
The inspection found that a gas valve inside the burned apartment had been left open. Based on that finding, investigators are treating a gas explosion as the most likely cause of the fire and have asked NFS to analyze the debris related to it.
However, further investigation is needed into the exact point where the fire started, as gas can explode immediately from even a single spark once a certain amount has accumulated.
Police are also investigating the exact circumstances, as they believe the woman had already died before the fire started.
Fire officials had initially believed she died from smoke inhalation, but police are reportedly giving more weight to the possibility that the fire broke out after her death.
Earlier, at around 10:30 a.m. the previous day, a fire broke out at the scene with an explosion. The man in his 60s, who lived in the unit, fell to his death, and his wife, a woman in her 50s, was found dead in the apartment bathroom.
A note was found in the man's clothing, expressing despair over his personal situation, including financial hardship.
Police have requested an autopsy of the couple's bodies from the National Forensic Service (NFS) to determine the exact cause of death.※ If you are struggling with depression or other difficult thoughts, or if a family member or acquaintance nearby is going through similar hardship, you can receive 24-hour counseling from suicide prevention hotline ☎109.y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter