Interior minister orders all-out firefight as Guryong Village blaze spreads

The interior ministry said Tuesday its minister ordered an all-out effort to put out a fire that broke out at Guryong Village in southern Seoul.

Yun Ho-jung issued the instructions shortly after the blaze was reported at about 3:49 p.m. in a temporary building in the 2nd district of the hillside settlement in Gangnam District's Gaepo-dong, the ministry said. He told the National Fire Agency, the National Police Agency, the Seoul city government and the Gangnam district office to concentrate on rescuing people and containing the flames.

"Fire, police, city and district authorities should mobilize all available personnel and equipment to do everything possible for the rescue of people and the extinguishing of the fire," Yun said.

The minister also ordered that nearby residents be moved out quickly and that firefighters be protected from accidents while they work, and he directed police to keep the area around the site fully controlled.

Firefighters were struggling to bring the fire under control as the wind shifted and water supplies ran short, and the flames spread toward the 7th district of the village. The cause of the fire has not been determined.