FIRING HEARD NEAR S.KOREA ISLAND, PEOPLE ORDERED TO SHELTER

Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea, Nov 28 (ANTARA/AFP) - Artillery fire was heard near a South Korean border island on Sunday soon after people there were ordered to take shelter in bunkers, reports said.

"The sound of artillery fire was heard at the island and signs of shelling... have been detected," Yonhap news agency quoted a military official as saying.

There was no immediate official confirmation.

YTN said some North Korean artillery units seemed to have opened fire towards the island.

Minutes earlier, the military had ordered people on Yeonpyeong island to take shelter, an AFP photographer said. North Korean artillery units bombarded the island last Tuesday, killing two civilians and two marines.

The photographer said he was sharing a bunker with military and police officers, residents and reporters following the loudspeaker warning. Hundreds of other villagers fled after last week's shelling, which raised tensions worldwide.

People on a South Korean island near the North Korean border were allowed to leave bunkers, 40 minutes after being told to take shelter on Sunday, an AFP photographer said.

The reason for the alert at Yeonpyeong island was unclear, but media reports said artillery fire had been heard off the island.