South Korean police said they would seek an arrest warrant for a woman who set fire to her apartment building while trying to kill a cockroach with an improvised flamethrower, local media report.
One of the woman's neighbours died after falling to the ground in a failed attempt to escape through a window.
The woman, who is in her 20s, told police that she tried to torch a cockroach with a lighter and a flammable spray, adding she had used the method before. But on Monday, items in her home caught fire.
Police in the northern city of Osan said the woman could be charged with accidentally starting a fire and causing death by negligence.
Blasting cockroaches - with blowtorches or homemade flamethrowers - have emerged as a novel way of getting rid of house pests, made popular by videos on social media.
