SEOUL, April 5 (Xinhuanet) -- A South Korean famous Buddhist temple in Yangyang county, some 200 kilometers northeast of Seoul, was devoured by a raging forest fire Tuesday afternoon, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

    Naksan Temple, one of the most renowned temples in South Korea with 1,300 years of history, was widely destroyed by the fire. Eighteen out of 20 ritual halls of the temple, including the Hall of the Great Veneration where the image of Buddha had been enshrined, were completely damaged, said Yonhap.

    The temple preserves about 30,000 national treasures. Monks in the temple were quoted by Yonhap as saying they had evacuated three representative treasures including a Buddhist image considered the oldest in Asia into the temple's basement before the fire spread.

    Fortunately, no casualties have been reported.

    South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan issued an emergency directive to mobilize all equipment to contain the fire, reported Yonhap. Lee will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday evening with ministers of defense, administration and health as well as heads of fire authorities and the police agency, said Yonhap.

    The fire erupted Monday night and spread rapidly, forcing 700 residents to evacuate their mountainous villages in the middle of the night. The authorities mobilized fire trucks and police officers to try to contain the blaze.

    The fire is the largest in Yangyang county since May 1980.

    Forests make up 82 percent of Yangyang county. Enditem