Helicopter pilot fighting blaze among 24 killed in South Korea wildfires

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 7:58 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

The decease toll successful the wildfires raging crossed South Korea's southeastern portion roseate to 24, and the aviator of a firefighting chopper was killed erstwhile the craft crashed connected Wednesday, arsenic the state battles immoderate of its worst wood fires successful decades.

The deadly wildfires person dispersed rapidly and forced much than 27,000 residents to fly their homes, the authorities said. The blazes, fuelled by beardown winds and adust weather, person razed full neighbourhoods, closed schools and forced authorities to transportation hundreds of inmates from prisons.

"We are deploying each disposable unit and instrumentality successful effect to the worst wildfires ever, but the concern is not good," acting President Han Duck-soo said, adding that the U.S. subject successful Korea was besides assisting.

The Korea Forest Service said 24 radical had been confirmed dormant successful the fires. It did not springiness a breakdown, but earlier the Safety Ministry said 14 radical had died successful Uiseong county, and 4 different deaths were linked to a blaze successful Sancheong county.

Dry conditions were expected to persist successful the wildfire-hit portion connected Wednesday, the information ministry said.

The Forest Service besides said 1 of its firefighting helicopters crashed portion trying to extinguish a blaze successful the region of Uiseong, and the aviator was killed.

South Korea relies connected helicopters to tackle wood fires due to the fact that of its mountainous terrain, and the incidental led to the little grounding of the fleet.

Video footage from the country showed what appeared to beryllium a twisted fuselage alongside smoking debris scattered implicit a hillside. The origin of the mishap was being investigated, authorities said.

Eight Russian helicopters retired of the Korea Forest Service's fleet of 48 utilized successful firefighting had been taken retired of cognition since past twelvemonth owed to an inability to import parts from Russia due to the fact that of sanctions related to the Ukraine war, Yoon Joon-byeong, a Democratic Party lawmaker said successful October, utilizing information from the wood service.

Kim Jong-gun, a spokesperson for the Korea Forest Service, said the bureau planned to unafraid much wildfire-fighting helicopters, responding to disapproval astir a deficiency of instrumentality and helicopters connected the ground.

He said that 4,919 firefighting unit were being deployed connected Wednesday, including hundreds of constabulary officers and subject units, portion 87 helicopters were being used.

Ancient temple destroyed

The blazes that broke retired connected Saturday successful Uiseong are yet to beryllium contained, gutting past temples and destroying homes.

The Uiseong fires were besides threatening respective UNESCO World Heritage sites, Hahoe Village and the Byeongsan Confucian Academy, successful Andong metropolis connected Wednesday, a metropolis authoritative said, arsenic authorities sprayed occurrence retardants to effort to support them.

The flames had already burned down Goun Temple, an past temple built successful 681, Yonhap reported.

The authorities has designated the affected areas arsenic peculiar catastrophe zones and said the fires had damaged much than 15,000 hectares.

The Uiseong fire, lone 68 per cent contained and exacerbated by gusty winds, shows "unimaginable" standard and speed, said Lee Byung-doo, a wood catastrophe adept astatine the National Institute of Forest Science.

Climate alteration is projected to marque wildfires much predominant globally, Lee said, citing the antithetic timing of wildfires that ravaged portion of Los Angeles successful January and a caller wildfire successful northeast Japan.