Horror as mum, 30, dies saving baby from fire started by neighbour killing cockroach

A woman in her 30s died saving her baby from a fire started accidentally by a neighbour trying to kill a cockroach. The neighbour used a lighter and a spray to create a makeshift flamethrower, which she directed at the critter.

But the attempt caused a bed and pile of rubbish to catch light, sparking a bigger blaze on the second floor of a block in the city of Osan in South Korea at about 5.35 a.m. local time on Monday (October 20).

Local media, citing police in Osan, report that the neighbour, a woman in her 20s referred to only as A, lived on the second floor.

The victim, referred to as B, lived on the fifth floor and was a Chinese national. Eight other residents suffered from smoke inhalation, according to The Korea Times.

Woman B and her husband screamed from a window for help as the flames crept closer.

To save their baby, the tot was dangled out of a window and grabbed by a person in the neighbouring building, which is less than a metre from the burning block.

The husband managed to get across too, but as she tried to make it to safety Woman B fell.

She was rushed to Ajou University Hospital with severe injuries, but was pronounced dead about five hours after the blaze broke out, according to local media.

Police are reported as believing the baby's mum and dad were forced to escape through the window because thick smoke meant they couldn't use the stairs.

South Korean authorities are reportedly planning to seek an arrest warrant to charge Woman A with accidental arson.