Hundreds evacuated, no casualties reported from fire in Guryong Village

Some 500 people were evacuated from homes Friday after a fire broke out in Guryong Village, a shantytown in Gangnam District, southern Seoul early Friday.

Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze that broke out in Guryong Village in southern Seoul, on Friday morning. [NEWS1]

Some 500 people were evacuated from homes Friday after a fire broke out in Guryong Village, a shantytown in Gangnam District, southern Seoul early Friday.

The fire began at around 6:28 a.m. near a church in the fourth district of Guryong, Seoul's last slum area, according to fire authorities, and quickly spread to the fifth district within half an hour.

At around 7:17 a.m. up to 400 residents of the fourth, fifth and sixth districts were evacuated.

There are around 666 households in the village.

The fire authorities issued the first and second stages of emergency response at 6:39 a.m. and 7:26 a.m., and mobilized 10 helicopters to put out the blaze.

As of 9:00 a.m., 290 fire fighters and police officers and 58 fire trucks had been deployed to the scene.

Fire authorities said that at least 40 houses, or an area of around 1,738 square meters, have been destroyed by the blaze.

No casualties have been reported so far.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was on an overseas trip to Switzerland, called for maximum efforts "to mobilize all available firefighters and equipment," according to Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for press affair, in a statement Friday morning.

Yoon noted that Guryong Village was especially vulnerable to fire due to the close proximity of houses and urged local governments to use all available means to get residents to evacuate and ensure that there are no casualties.

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min also issued an emergency order Friday morning to mobilize firefighting and police personnel, the Seoul city government and the Gangnam District Office to put all efforts into extinguishing the blaze and protecting lives, according to his ministry.

Guryong is located in southern Gangnam District, an area with some of the nation's most expensive real estate. The origin of the shantytown dates back to the 1980s and symbolizes Korea's rapid modernization from a war-ravaged country into an economic powerhouse.

A blaze tears through Guryong Village in southern Seoul, Friday. [YONHAP]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]