"My House Is Completely Burned"... Guryong Village Residents Panic Over Massive Fire

[Anchor]

We begin our 8 o'clock news today with reports of a major fire that broke out this afternoon. A massive fire erupted in Guryong Village, a shanty town in Gangnam, Seoul. Recognizing the risk of the fire spreading, firefighting authorities mobilized 6 helicopters for an all-out response.

First, we have a report from Lee Tae-gwon.

[Reporter]

Crimson flames and thick black smoke continuously billow high into the sky from among tightly clustered makeshift buildings.

At around 3:50 PM today, a massive fire broke out in District 2 of Guryong Village, located in Gaepo-dong, Seoul.

Some 60 reports related to the incident were received, with callers stating, "It looks like a fire started at the garbage dump." About 10 minutes after dispatching, firefighting authorities issued a Level 1 response, mobilizing all personnel and equipment from the jurisdiction's fire station.

Around 4:30 PM, concerned about the potential for the fire to spread further, they escalated the response to Level 2, mobilizing adjacent fire stations as well.

Helicopters, 99 vehicles, and 329 personnel were deployed.

[Kim Hyun-seok / Head of Fire Administration Division, Gangnam Fire Station: The fire initially broke out within District 2 of Guryong Village and is rapidly spreading to the surrounding areas. As of now, 6 helicopters have been mobilized and deployed to fight the fire, and we plan to continuously mobilize additional helicopters.]

Fire authorities stated that no casualties have been confirmed so far.

Following the outbreak, 39 people, including local residents, evacuated on their own.

Residents of Districts 2 and 3, where the fire occurred, had to flee in a rush and were unable to properly put on their clothes.

[Guryong Village Resident: Oh dear, everything burned down. Everything burned. My house is completely burned. I couldn't bring anything out, I just came out holding a phone in my hand. I am 91 years old now, my body is shaking, and I couldn't even put on any clothes, so I'm freezing and at a loss for words.]

President Lee Jae-myung received a briefing on the fire status and instructed authorities to "mobilize all available resources to ensure every possible measure is taken for rescue operations and securing safety."

(Video by Kang Si-woo | Video Editing by So Ji-hye)

※