South Korean fire crews battled what the acting president said on Wednesday were some of the worst wildfires ever in the country, fueled by windy and dry conditions. At least 19 people had died, the authorities said, including the pilot of a downed helicopter.
The National Fire Agency said the helicopter had crashed on Wednesday during firefighting efforts. It said it could not immediately provide further details, including the cause of the crash or whether anyone else was on board.
Two ancient Buddhist temples were among the more than 200 buildings damaged or destroyed since the fires began on Friday in the country’s southeast. Tens of thousands of acres have been scorched, the government said, and more than 27,000 people evacuated.
Out of nearly 30 blazes since Friday, eight were still burning early Wednesday.
In addition to the fatalities, at least 19 people were injured, six of them seriously, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. Many of those who died were in their 60s and 70s, a local police official said in a briefing. The government noted that 43,000 acres had been damaged.
The fires appeared to be “breaking the record for the worst wildfires ever,” said acting President Han Duck-soo, who just this week was reinstated after being impeached in December. In a statement, his office said the fires were spreading beyond initial predictions.
Among the people evacuated were residents of the 600-year-old Andong Hahoe folk village, a UNESCO World Heritage site more than 130 miles southeast of Seoul. Villagers described the blaze as “the devil” on social media and expressed frustration at the lack of success in putting it out.
Flames and smoke damaged 209 buildings across the region, according to the ministry statement, including two temples. Videos from local news stations showed the inferno surrounding and closing in on the temples, both more than 1,000 years old.
The Korea Heritage Service said on social media on Wednesday that some treasures from one, the Gounsa temple, including a stone Buddha statue, had been removed before the fire reached it.
Local officials closed off roads and suspended train services, and some places lost power.
The government said that firefighters had contained nearly 70 percent of the largest blaze, which burned across 37,000 acres. Their efforts were slowed by winds of 56 miles per hour starting Tuesday afternoon, which prevented them from mobilizing helicopters and drones.
The first blaze started on Friday afternoon in Sancheong County, around 160 miles southeast of the capital. The Interior Ministry said it was investigating claims that a farmer’s lawn mower had started that one.
Separate fires broke out in nearby counties and cities in the following days from episodes at a graveyard and at a garbage incinerator. Officials attributed the rapid spread of the fires to dry weather conditions.
The Justice Ministry said it had transferred around 500 inmates in North Gyeongsang Province overnight on Tuesday, according to Yonhap News.
