ANDONG (AFP) – One of South Korea’s worst-ever wildfire outbreaks has killed at least 24 people, officials said yesterday, with multiple raging blazes causing “unprecedented damage” and threatening two UNESCO-listed sites.
More than a dozen fires broke out over the weekend, scorching wide swathes of the southeast, forcing around 27,000 people to urgently evacuate, with the fire cutting off roads and downing communications lines as residents fled in panic.
The death toll jumped to 24 yesterday, as wind-driven flames tore through neighbourhoods and razed an ancient temple.
“Twenty four people are confirmed dead in the wildfires so far,” with 12 seriously injured, a Ministry of Interior and Safety official told AFP, adding that these were “preliminary figures” and the toll could rise.
Most of those killed were local residents, but at least three firefighters were killed, and a pilot in a firefighting helicopter died when his aircraft crashed in a mountain area, officials said.
According to the Interior Ministry, the wildfires have charred 17,398 hectares, with the blaze in Uiseong county alone accounting for 87 per cent of the total.
The extent of damage already makes it South Korea’s second largest, after the inferno in April 2000 that scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast.
The government has raised the crisis alert to its highest level and taken the rare step of transferring some inmates out of prisons in the area.
“Wildfires burning for a fifth consecutive day… are causing unprecedented damage,” South Korea’s acting president Han Duck-soo said.
He told an emergency safety and disaster meeting that the blazes were “developing in a way that is exceeding both existing prediction models and earlier expectations”.
“Throughout the night, chaos continued as power and communication lines were cut in several areas and roads were blocked,” he added. In the city of Andong, some evacuees sheltering in an elementary school gym told AFP they had to flee so quickly they could bring nothing with them.
“The wind was so strong,” Kwon So-han, a 79-year-old resident in Andong told AFP, adding that as soon as he got the evacuation order he fled. “The fire came from the mountain and fell on my house,” he said.
“Those who haven’t experienced it won’t know. I could only bring my body.”
Authorities had been using helicopters to battle the blazes, but suspended all such operations after a helicopter crashed yesterday, killing the pilot on board.
Authorities said changing wind patterns and dry weather had revealed the limitations of conventional firefighting methods. The fires are “the most devastating” yet in South Korea, acting president Han added.
By yesterday, two UNESCO-listed sites popular with tourists – historic Hahoe Folk Village and Byeongsan Seowon – were under threat.
Authorities said late yesterday that the fire was just five kilometres away from Hahoe, a village where some houses were covered with thatched roofs. Firefighters were also on standby at nearby Byeongsan Seowon, known for its pavillion-style ancient academies.
Huge plumes of smoke turned the sky over the village grey and huge chunks of ash floated in the air, AFP reporters saw.
