South Korea: Pilot killed as firefighting helicopter crashes in Uiseong

Uiseong:  A South Korean firefighting helicopter with one pilot crashed on Wednesday while battling a large wildfire in the southeastern county of Uiseong, killing the pilot, authorities said.

The helicopter went down on a mountain in Uiseong, located about 180 kilometres southeast of Seoul, at 12:54 p.m., according to the Korea Forest Service.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, authorities said, Yonhap news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a wave of wildfires in the southeastern region has risen to 16, with another 10 injured, officials said on Wednesday, as firefighters struggled to contain the rapidly spreading blazes.

The fires that began in Sancheong County in South Gyeongsang Province last Friday have spread to nearby Uiseong, and were advancing to neighbouring Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok, fueled by strong and dry winds.

Of the victims, two were found in Andong, three were in Cheongsong, five were in Yeongyang and six in Yeongdeok, officials said.

Of the ten people who were injured, two sustained serious injuries.

In Yeongyang, four of the five victims were found burned to death on a road at around 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

The engulfing flames destroyed Goun Temple in Uiseong, an ancient temple built in 681 during the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935). National treasures stored in the temple had been relocated to other locations.

Thousands of firefighters and dozens of helicopters and vehicles were deployed to fight the blazes.

Since last Friday, the military has deployed some 5,000 service members and 146 helicopters to help combat the wildfires raging in the southeastern region.

The justice ministry said around 500 inmates at a prison in North Gyeongsang Province were transferred to another facility overnight to escape the flames.

The ministry had initially considered transferring some 3,500 inmates from several prisons in the region but reduced the number as some of the fires were put out.

–IANS