500 evacuated as Seoul's last shanty town goes up in flames

ANKARA (AA) - Some 60 houses were burned down while nearly 500 people were evacuated when a fire broke out on Friday in the capital Seoul's last slums, South Korean media reported.

The fire broke out early morning in the fourth district of Guryong village near the capital, located in Seoul's Gangnam ward, Yonhap News Agency quoted Shin Yong-ho, a fire station official, as saying.

It is the capital's "last remaining shanty town" in the super-affluent district in southern Seoul, the daily Chosun Ilbo reported.

Around 60 houses are presumed to have burned down out of 666 households in the village. However, no deaths or injuries were reported.

Hundreds of firefighters and policemen have moved to control the fire, the report said, adding authorities have also evacuated nearly 500 people from the village to a safe location.

President Yoon Suk Yeol also ordered authorities to mobilize all resources to control the blaze.

Guryong Village is part of the Gangnam Ward which is the most expensive area built in 1980 after poor residents were forced to move out, according to the agency.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid