South Korea's disaster chief said on Thursday (Mar 27) that the deadly wildfires are now the country's "largest on record" having burned more forest than any previous blaze. The death toll rose to 27. Images taken from space revealed the extent of the devastation. 

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Over the weekend, more than a dozen fires broke out in the southeast part of the nation. The wildfires have forced around 27,000 people to urgently evacuate their homes and reach safe regions. 

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The fires, which began in the central Uiseong county, have charred more than 35,000 hectares (81,500 acres) so far, and they continue to rage. The wildfires doubled in size from a day earlier, turning out to be the biggest single forest fire in South Korea's history. The previous record was 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) in a March 2000 fire.

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The blaze of wildland fires began igniting on March 21 and smoke from some of the larger fires was visible in space, with image acquired by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA's Aqua satellite on March 22. The fires have also cut off roads and downed communications lines. Historic temples were also incinerated.

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See image here: 

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earthobservatory.nasa.gov
NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Photograph: (earthobservatory.nasa.gov)

 

'Unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires'

Lee Han-kyung, disaster and safety division chief, said, "The wildfire is spreading rapidly. 26 people have died, eight are seriously injured and 22 have been lightly injured." 

"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," he added. 

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Later in the day on Thursday, the Ministry of Interior and Safety updated the toll, saying in a statement, "27 are dead and 32 are injured," 

This becomes the highest number of deaths since the Korea Forest Service started records for wildfires in 1987. Multiple blazes still burning amid strong winds and dry conditions. 

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The authorities have said that changing wind patterns and dry weather have put limitations on conventional firefighting methods. They released stocks of aviation fuel to help the firefighting helicopters keep flying in order to douse the flames across mountainous regions. 

"We are nationally in a critical situation with numerous casualties because of the unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires," Acting President Han Duck-soo told a government response meeting.

Officials said that most of those killed were local residents, but at least three firefighters were killed. A pilot in a firefighting helicopter died when his aircraft crashed in a mountain area. 

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(With inputs from agencies)