About 500 South Koreans were forced to flee their homes Friday morning after a fire ripped through a low-income neighborhood in southern Seoul and destroyed at least 60 homes.
Firefighters are battling the blaze in Goryong village and there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, officials said.
Shin Yong-ho, an official with the fire department in Seoul’s Gangnam district, said rescue workers were continuing to search the affected areas but that all residents were believed to have been safely evacuated.
More than 800 firefighters, police officers and public workers were deployed to battle the blaze and manage evacuations after the blaze broke out around 6:30 a.m.
Pictures from the scene showed firefighters battling the blaze under thick white smoke covering the village known for its dense rows of makeshift homes as helicopters sprayed water from above.
Shin said the fire was believed to have started in a house in the village, which was made of plastic sheets and plywood. He said that the cause of the fire is being investigated.
About 500 residents have relocated to nearby facilities, including a school gym, said Kim Ah-ryom, an official at the Gangnam district office. Authorities were planning to later shift residents to nearby hotels.