24 dead as wildfires continue to rage across southeastern Korea

At least 24 people had died from wildfires in the Gyeongsang region as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

In the afternoon, a pilot was pronounced dead after a firefighting helicopter crashed at the scene of a wildfire in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang.

The fires, which broke out in areas including Uiseong and Andong, have spread rapidly, leading to a sharp rise in casualties. Twelve people had been seriously injured, while 14 suffered moderate injuries. While investigations into the cause of the deaths are ongoing, authorities believe many victims succumbed to smoke inhalation or suffered fatal injuries while trying to escape the flames at night.

Most of the casualties have been people aged 60 or over, according to local governments.

Officials indicate that some elderly residents refused to heed evacuation orders and tried to protect their homes, which could have contributed to the increase in casualties.

“Many residents did not listen even when told to evacuate to a safe place,” said a firefighter involved in evacuating residents in Andong on Tuesday. “There were even cases where the police forcibly dragged residents out because they tried to stay in their homes when it was too dangerous.”

North Gyeongsang has a relatively older population. Considering how many elderly residents have been slow to evacuate and hesitant to obey evacuation orders, critics say the authorities should have made more active efforts to fight the wildfires to prevent people from suffocating and dying at home.

Firefighting efforts were underway in six locations as of Wednesday afternoon: Sancheong and Hadong in South Gyeongsang, Uiseong and Andong in North Gyeongsang and Onyang and Eonyang in Ulsan. The wildfires have scorched 17,534 hectares of forest, with Uiseong and Andong suffering the most damage, accounting for 15,158 hectares.

So far, 209 homes, factories, temples and cultural properties have been damaged.

The number of displaced residents has risen sharply, with 27,799 people seeking refuge in temporary shelters. Of these, only 1,733 have returned home, while 26,606 remain displaced.

The helicopter accident on Wednesday happened at 12:54 p.m. during wildfire suppression efforts in Gyoan-ri, Sinpyeong-myeon, Uiseong County, the Korea Forest Service (KFS) said the same day.

The agency believes the helicopter was a Sikorsky S-76 leased by Inje County, Gangwon.

“There was a witness report that a yellow helicopter had crashed,” the KFS said. “We are currently investigating the exact cause of the accident and the personal details of the deceased.”

During a public address at the government complex in Seoul on Wednesday morning, Han said, “Once the wildfires are extinguished, the government will examine what has been lacking in wildfire response and prevention, deeply reflect on it, and develop improvement measures.”

“Large-scale wildfires that co-occurred in the Gyeongsang area on Saturday are spreading to nearby regions, becoming the worst wildfires in history,” Han said. “The immediate reason the forest fire is not being put out is because strong winds have been blowing all night. We have been desperately waiting for rain today or tomorrow to put out the fire, but according to the weather forecast, there will be no rain in the Gyeongsang region today and only a small amount of rain of five to 10 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) is expected on Thursday.”

A total of 244 wildfires have occurred this year amid protracted dry weather, 2.4 times more than the same period last year. Over 17,000 hectares of forest have disappeared so far from wildfires.

The government has operated the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters since Saturday and has been working on an integrated response to forest fires at the government level. On Saturday, a “serious” wildfire warning was issued, and from Tuesday, it was expanded to all regions of the country. A national fire mobilization order has also been issued.

“The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, related ministries, local governments, public institutions, volunteers and village chiefs on the front lines are all working together to extinguish the forest fire and protect the surrounding areas of private homes,” said Han.

The government is mobilizing 4,652 available personnel, including 1,144 military personnel, 3,135 firefighters and 4,652 other personnel, including civil servants, to the fullest extent possible to extinguish the fire.

In addition, a state of disaster has been declared in the Ulsan, North Gyeongsang and South Gyeongsang regions, and Sancheong, Ulju, Uiseong and Hadong have been declared special disaster areas for rapid recovery and support for the displaced.

“I bow my head and express my gratitude and encouragement to the wildfire fighting teams, firefighters and military personnel who are fighting the flames on the ground, as well as to the local government officials and volunteers from the Red Cross who are caring for and supporting the evacuees,” said Han. “The entire nation is watching with bated breath. Please, local government heads and military commanders, make the safety of those participating in the firefighting operation your top priority so that there are no additional casualties.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON   [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]