A fire has broken out in an economically depressed neighborhood in southern Seoul on Friday morning, prompting fire authorities to issue a second-stage emergency response order.

According to authorities, the massive fire broke out at around 6:20 a.m. in the fourth precinct of Guryong Village, an area of run-down housing within the affluent district of Gangnam in Seoul.

As of 8:30 a.m., no casualties have been confirmed and about 500 residents in the fourth, fifth and sixth precincts of the village were evacuated.

The fire is reportedly spreading from the fourth precinct to the fifth as fire authorities attempt to put it out, with some 170 personnel, over 50 vehicles and five helicopters mobilized.

The closure of nearby roads due to the fire is causing severe traffic congestion.