South Korea declared a state of emergency due to forest fires that have claimed the lives of four people. This was reported by Yonhap.
It was announced that from 18:00 on March 22, a natural disaster regime was declared in the Ulsan metropolitan area, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces.
As a result of the fire, four firefighters lost their lives. Six people, including one local citizen, were injured. About 1,500 people were evacuated, and 260 people lost their homes and were placed in temporary accommodations.
The fire started on March 21st in Sanchong county, located 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and spread to other areas. The following day, approximately 70 percent of the fire sources had been successfully extinguished. However, strong winds blew, and this figure dropped to 35 percent.
Rail services in the affected areas have been temporarily suspended due to the natural disaster. So far, a total of 3,286.11 hectares of land — roughly equivalent to 4,600 football fields — has been burned.
