South Korea: Great fire in Seoul – 500 people saved – Panorama

About 500 people have been brought to safety because of a large fire in a shanty town in the South Korean capital Seoul. Dozens of dwellings in the Guryong settlement in the south of the metropolis burned down in the fire early on Friday morning, reports South Korean broadcasters and the national news agency Yonhap, citing the fire brigade. The people who lost their homes would be temporarily housed in nearby hotels, the fire department said. According to them, there were no dead or injured.

According to the fire department, the main fire in the slum was extinguished with the help of 53 fire engines and ten helicopters. It is not yet known why the fire broke out. Pictures show thick plumes of smoke rising in one district of the settlement.

Government spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called for every effort to limit the damage and mobilize all available firefighters. The President is currently at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

According to Yonhap Agency, Guryong is the last remaining shantytown in Seoul. There were reportedly more than 660 households left in the village. Most of the dwellings were erected makeshift. Many of them are made of plywood panels with partially brick walls. Inside are combustible materials such as vinyl, styrofoam, gas cylinders, and coal. The houses are also attached to each other, which increases the risk of the fire spreading quickly.

There have been several fires in the settlement in recent years

There have been at least 16 fires in Guryong village since 2009. According to Yonhap, a resident died in a fire in 2014. In March 2022, eleven houses burned down and part of the nearby forest was destroyed.

The settlement is located in the immediate vicinity of the Gangnam district known as the “poor district”. It was created in the 1980s when poorer residents had to leave their homes as a result of large-scale urban development projects.

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