[Anchor]

We continue with news of the fire that broke out yesterday (October 27) in Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The blaze was finally extinguished early this morning, some 13 hours later. An area equivalent to four soccer fields was reduced to ashes. Residents who suddenly lost their homes are staying at temporary shelters set up in a nearby school.

Reporter Yeo Hyeon-gyo has the details.

[Reporter]

The roofs of the shacks have collapsed, leaving only bare skeletons of the structures.

While police and firefighters busy themselves with a joint on-site inspection of the house sites turned to ash, residents sift through the debris with feelings of desolation, hoping to salvage even a single personal belonging.

[Fire Victim: We were in a situation where we had to escape with just the clothes on our backs, without even the presence of mind to grab our clothes. The fire came right up to the front doors in an instant.]

The fire that engulfed Guryong Village in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at around 4:00 PM yesterday was completely extinguished at around 4:40 AM today, some 13 hours into firefighting operations.

The area visible behind me is District 2 of Guryong Village.

The fire is presumed to have started in a temporary building within District 2 and spread rapidly fueled by strong flames.

The fire instantly spread toward Districts 1, 3, and 4, and even jumped to nearby Mount Guryong.

The blaze reduced about 28,000 square meters—an area equivalent to four soccer fields—to ashes and destroyed 99 shacks.

A woman in her 30s suffered an injury to her leg, and 127 people from 91 households—more than half of the 169 households remaining in the village—evacuated. Among them were residents who had previously lost their homes in a fire last January and had been living in tents.

While the displaced residents have temporarily relocated to places like a nearby gymnasium, they worry about when they will be able to return home.

[Fire Victim: There is nothing, nothing at all. Nothing is left. I had been living here continuously... I was already so scared when the fire happened last time that I almost ended up leaving...]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and SH Corporation stated that they will discuss support measures, such as providing temporary lodgings for the displaced residents for a week first.

Police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the starting point through a second detailed inspection the day after tomorrow.

(Camera Reporter: Kang Si-woo | Video Editor: Yu Mi-ra)