Seoul, Mar 29 (IANS): A fire erupted at a maternity hospital in the South Korean city of Cheongju on Tuesday, but no one was injured seriously, though some were under treatment for smoke inhalation, officials said.

A total of 38 people were in the seven-storey building in Cheongju, some 110 km south of Seoul, including patients, babies and medical workers, when the fire broke out at 10.09 a.m., Yonhap News Agency quoted firefighting officials as saying.

All escaped on their own or with the help of rescue workers.

Of them, 16 were sent to a hospital for smoke inhalation, but none were in serious condition, officials said.

The fire is presumed to have started in the building's parking area on the first basement level and spread upward.

A total of 25 fire trucks and some 60 firefighting personnel are currently working to put out the fire, while the authorities are looking into the exact cause of the fire and the scope of its damage.