• Nearly 300 firefighters are combating a major blaze in Guryong Village, Seoul.
• No casualties reported, but 47 residents have been evacuated from the area.
• The fire broke out early morning and raised concerns about spreading to nearby areas.
• The makeshift homes in Guryong Village are particularly vulnerable to fires.

A major fire erupted early in the morning of January 16 in Guryong Village, located in the upmarket Gangnam district of Seoul, prompting the mobilization of nearly 300 South Korean firefighters to contain the blaze. The fire raised alarms due to its potential to spread to nearby mountainous terrain, leading authorities to escalate the situation to the second-highest level of alert, according to Channel News Asia, Reuters, and Al Jazeera.

The blaze prompted the evacuation of 47 residents, with reports indicating that around 110 people were residing in the affected area at the time. Eyewitness Kim Ok-im, a long-time resident, expressed her distress, recalling a similar incident when a flood devastated the community years prior. Kim described a state of panic as flames began to spread, embodying the urgent feelings of the local community, according to Channel News Asia and Reuters.

Emergency responders dispatched a fleet of 85 fire trucks to tackle the flames, but were hindered by poor air quality, which prevented the deployment of firefighting helicopters. The village, often called Seoul's largest remaining shantytown, has a history rooted in socio-economic challenges where families displaced by government projects settled without permits, leading to vulnerabilities such as the current fire, as noted by multiple sources Reuters, Al Jazeera.