Wildfires in South Korea are now “the largest on record” having burned more forest than any previous blaze, the country’s disaster chief said Thursday, as the death toll rose to 26.
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 wildfire is spreading rapidly … 26 people have died, eight are seriously injured and 22 have been lightly injured,” said Lee Han-kyung, disaster and safety division chief. “The forest damage has reached 35,810 hectares, already exceeding the area affected by the 2000 east coast wildfire, previously the largest on record, by more than 10,000 hectares.”
