Seoul : About 500 people were evacuated from homes Friday morning as a fire raged through the last remaining shanty village in Seoul and destroyed at least 60 homes.
The blaze broke out at 6:27 a.m. in the fourth district of the Guryong village, located in Seoul’s posh area of Gangnam Ward, and was fully extinguished around 11:46 a.m.
There was no immediate report of deaths or injuries, Shin Yong-ho, a fire official of Gangnam Fire Station, told, adding the fire engulfed around 2,700 square meters of the fire-prone town.
More than 900 firefighters, police officers and government officials were dispatched to fight the blaze and handle evacuations.
Currently, there are around 666 households in the village, and most of the buildings are improvised structures with vinyl plywood panels.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a visit to Switzerland to attend the Davos forum, called for maximum efforts in the mobilization of all available firefighters and equipment to ensure there are no casualties, according to Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye.
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min also ordered officials to prevent any secondary damage and protect residents living nearby, the ministry said.
