Seoul fire officials are working to contain a large fire that broke out early Friday at the Guryong Village in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, forcing the evacuation of about 50 residents.
Authorities received a report of the fire at around 5 a.m., issuing a Level 1 emergency response shortly after. This refers to a lower-level disaster that can be handled by the fire response team in the area, as 234 firefighters, 70 police officials, and 120 district officials have been deployed so far.
No casualties have been reported as of yet, but 25 of the 30 households in the area were affected by the accident.
Traffic in three lanes connecting the village to the adjacent Guryong Tunnel is being restricted.
Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung ordered officials to mobilize all available capacities to put out the fire, along with the evacuation of the residents in the area. Gangnam-gu district advised people to bypass the area, urging residents in the surrounding regions to be on alert.
Officials will investigate after the flames have been extinguished. The person who reported the case said, "An empty house had caught fire."
Guryong Village, located in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, is a low-income neighborhood consisting mostly of make-shift dwellings. It is a rare area in the affluent Gangnam region where most residents are financially disadvantaged.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
