Seoul, 20 January 2023 (dpa/MIA) – Some 500 people were evacuated and some 60 houses were believed to have been lost as a fire raged in Seoul’s Guryong Village on Friday, local media reported.

The fire broke out on Friday morning in one of the districts of the village, one of the last remaining shanty towns in the South Korean capital, news agency Yonhap cited firefighters as saying.

More than 700 people were dispatched to the site Gangnam Fire Station’s Shin Yong-ho was cited as telling reporters.

According to Yonhap there are more than 650 households in the village, located in the southern part of Seoul’s Gangnam Ward, which has the country’s most expensive real estate. Most of the buildings in the village are improvised structures.