A fire broke out in Guryong Village in Gangnam District, Seoul, and fire authorities issued response level 2 and are working to put it out.
According to fire authorities on the 16th, a fire occurred around 5 a.m. in Guryong Village in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam District.
Fire authorities were dispatched after receiving a report that "a fire broke out in a vacant house" and issued response level 1 at about 5:10 a.m. As the flames were not contained, it was raised to response level 2 at 8:49 a.m. Response level 2 mobilizes personnel from 8 to 11 nearby fire stations at the incident site and 51 to 80 units of equipment.
A total of 427 personnel, including 234 firefighters, and 72 units of equipment were deployed in the firefighting operation. An official at the National Fire Agency said, "We also requested the deployment of a firefighting helicopter, but it has been unable to take off due to poor visibility."
So far, no casualties have been identified. Due to the fire, 47 people from 32 households completed evacuation. Also, due to the impact of the fire, traffic was restricted on the lower two lanes of Yangjae-daero heading from the Guryong Tunnel to the entrance of Guryong Village.
Fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire once it is completely extinguished.
Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung issued an emergency directive, saying, "Relevant agencies should mobilize all personnel and equipment to make every effort to rescue people and extinguish the fire, and ensure that residents can evacuate quickly and thoroughly so that no casualties occur."
Meanwhile, Guryong Village, known as the "last shantytown" in the Gangnam area of Seoul, is set for redevelopment into a nature-friendly residential complex after its redevelopment plan passed the Seoul Metropolitan Government's review at the end of last year.