More than two dozen wildfires broke out in southeastern South Korea over the weekend, killing four people and injuring nine others, officials said on Monday.
Thousands of firefighters and dozens of helicopters were sent out to fight 29 fires that burned through at least 22,000 acres and forced the evacuation of nearly 3,000 people, according to the Interior Ministry. Smoke and flames damaged 162 buildings. The fires also disrupted train service and prompted the closing of some roads.
All but five fires had been put out by Monday morning. The largest blaze, in Euiseong County, about 110 miles southeast of Seoul, was 65 percent contained, according to the government. Video from a local news station showed flames engulfing the Unramsa Temple, which was built over a thousand years ago.
Nearly all of the reported deaths and injuries were linked to a fire that started in Sancheong County, about 160 miles southeast of Seoul, the capital, on Friday afternoon, officials said.
Five of the nine people hurt were seriously injured, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. At least two of the dead were firefighters, officials said. Other casualties included government workers and a local resident.
The Interior Ministry said it was looking into reports claiming the Sancheong fire had started when a farmer’s lawn mower caught fire.
A government report said a separate blaze began on Saturday morning in a cemetery in Euiseong County. Another fire was started from a garbage incinerator on Saturday afternoon in Gimhae, a city about 20 miles inland from Busan in the Korean Peninsula’s southeastern corner.
As of Monday morning, the fire in Sancheong was about 70 percent contained, according to local officials. Other fires in the southeast, including in Gimhae and in Ulju and Okcheon counties, were also on their way to being fully contained or extinguished. On Saturday evening, the government declared a state of disaster for part of the region.
South Korean officials say that dry and windy conditions have allowed fires to spread easily. March, April and May are some of the nation’s driest months, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
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