Two elderly patients died and 47 others were injured in a fire at a nursing hospital in Gimpo, west of Seoul, on Tuesday, local fire authorities said.

The fire broke out at a five-story building housing the hospital at 9:03 a.m., Gyeonggi Fire Services said, adding the hospital had 130 elderly patients at the time of the accident. 

As of 12:00 p.m., the fire had left two patients, including a 90-year-old woman, dead and 47 others suffering the effects of smoke inhalation, the agency said. Six of the injured are now in critical condition, it added.

All patients were evacuated from the hospital, it said.

The fire is believed to have started in a boiler room located on the fourth floor of the building, according to the agency.

"Smoke from the boiler room appears to have come directly into patients' rooms and an intensive care unit located on the same floor, causing heavy casualties," Won Joon-hee, an official at Gimpo Fire Station said.

The two dead were among eight ICU patients, he added.

The 47 injured are currently undergoing medical treatment at 11 nearby hospitals, the official said.                       

The nursing hospital reportedly occupies the building's third and fourth floors. (Yonhap)