A fire at a cramped karaoke bar that killed nine people on Saturday rang the alarm on safety regulations, calling for authorities to take immediate action.

At least nine people were killed, including three migrant workers, and 20 others seriously injured in the blaze that ripped through a karaoke bar in downtown in Busan on Saturday evening, police said.

Most of the victims died as a result of smoke inhalation. Some of the injured remain in critical condition, police officials said. 

The fire originated inside a room near the entrance of the karaoke bar around 9 p.m. and gutted the 559-square-meter bar before the firefighters put it out around 10 p.m.

The cause was still under investigation on Sunday, but witnesses told police that there was a noise before the fire erupted. The police are investigating whether there was a gas explosion or electric short circuit.

Located on the third floor of a six-story building, the karaoke facility has 26 rooms, and more than 40 people were believed to be inside at the time of the fire.

This is not the first time a fire inside a karaoke bar has caused a large number of casualties. Eight people were killed in a fire that engulfed a basement-karaoke bar in Busan in early 2009. Also, in the same year, 15 people, including seven Japanese tourists, were killed in a fire at an indoor shooting gallery in Busan.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)