At least six people were killed and 25 others injured on Friday in a fire at a construction site for a luxury hotel in Busan, a port city in southeastern South Korea, fire officials said.

       Fire officials received the first report around 10:50 a.m. local time of a fire, which apparently broke out in the swimming pool area on the ground floor of the 12-story building, said Hong Moon-sik, the fire chief for Gijang County. Fire officials said the hotel was a Banyan Tree resort.

       The fire spread quickly, and dark smoke billowed from the building by the time rescuers arrived, Chief Hong told reporters. The six people who died were found unconscious in the pool area, where insulation material was on fire, creating black fumes that made it hard to evacuate, he said.

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