By The Straits Times | Created at 2025-03-22 11:54:31 | Updated at 2025-04-05 00:57:00
1 week ago
SEOUL - At least two firefighters have been killed in a wildfire in South Korea and more than 200 residents in 15 southern villages have been told to evacuate, the authorities said on March 22.
The fire, which began in Sancheong county on the afternoon of March 21, prompted the deployment of 304 personnel, along with 20 helicopters, according to South Korea’s Interior Ministry.
On March 22, “two firefighters were found dead, while two individuals remain missing”, a fire agency official told AFP.
It was not immediately clear if the two missing people were also firefighters.
Wildfires also hit several other areas in central and southern provinces, the Korea Forest Service said.
The forest agency has issued “severe” fire warnings, its highest level, in 12 locations, including North and South Gyeongsang provinces, Busan and Daejeon.
Sancheong in South Gyeongsang province is about 250km south-east of Seoul.
South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-mok told relevant agencies to “mobilise all available equipment and personnel to quickly extinguish” the fire, his office said.
Some types of extreme weather have a well-established link with climate change, such as heatwaves or heavy rainfall.
Other phenomena such as forest fires, droughts, snowstorms and tropical storms can result from a combination of complex factors. AFP
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