Dhaka, Jan. 16 -- Nearly 300 South Korean firefighters were deployed on Friday to fight a major fire in a deprived area of the upmarket Gangnam district of southern Seoul, a fire official said.

No casualties had been reported so far, but 47 residents were evacuated, an official at the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters said by telephone.

Authorities raised the alert on the fire to the second level, with firefighters concerned about it spreading to a nearby mountain, the official said.

A total of 85 fire trucks were sent to the scene, but officials could not send a helicopter due to haze and fine dust shrouding the city, she said.

South Korean Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung ordered officials to "mobilise all available personn...