Hundreds evacuated as blaze erupts in slum next to Seoul's posh Gangnam district - Reuters

SEOUL, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Fire swept done portion of a shanty municipality successful the South Korean capital, Seoul, connected Friday, destroying 60 homes, galore constructed from cardboard and wood, and forcing the evacuation of astir 500 people.

Emergency services took 5 hours to enactment retired the blaze, which erupted earlier daybreak successful Guryong Village, a slum that lies conscionable crossed a road from Seoul's affluent Gangnam district. Officials said nary casualties were reported truthful far.

Home to astir 1,000 people, Guryong is 1 of the past remaining shanty towns successful the superior and has go a awesome of inequality successful Asia's 4th largest economy.

Ten helicopters and hundreds of firefighters, constabulary and troops joined the effort to enactment retired the blaze which, according to officials, razed astir 1 successful 10 of the 600-plus homes successful Guryong.

"I saw a flash from the room and opened the door, and flames were shooting from the houses adjacent door," said Shin, a 72-year-old pistillate whose location was wholly burned successful the inferno.

"So I knocked each doorway adjacent and shouted 'fire!' and past called 119," she said, giving lone her surname.

Kim Doo-chun, 60, said his household was unaffected by the occurrence but helium told Reuters that the colony was perpetually astatine hazard of catastrophe owed partially to its cardboard homes and constrictive alleys.

"If a occurrence breaks retired successful this neighbourhood, the full colony could beryllium successful information if we don't respond quickly. So we've been responding unneurotic for decades," said Kim, who has lived successful the country for 30 years.

The slum has agelong been prone to fires and flooding, and information and wellness issues abound.

The authorities had unveiled plans for redevelopment and relocation aft a immense occurrence successful precocious 2014, but those efforts person made small advancement amid a decades-long tug of warfare betwixt landowners, residents and authorities.

The civic authorities for Seoul and Gangnam district, and state-run developers person been astatine likelihood implicit however to compensate backstage landowners successful Guryong and person yet to hold whether residents, astir of whom are squatters, are entitled to authorities enactment for relocation and housing.

Informed astir the occurrence portion successful Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered all-out efforts to forestall a bigger disaster, his spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the inactive smouldering colony and asked officials to hole to relocate affected families.

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Gerry Doyle & Simon Cameron-Moore

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