Gounsa temple destroyed; dozens dead, injured in bushfires

Seoul: At least 18 people have died and another 19 have been injured as bushfires ravage South Korea’s southern regions amid dry weather and strong winds, destroying more than 200 structures and forcing 27,000 people to evacuate, government officials said on Wednesday.

Officials in Andong city and other south-eastern cities and towns ordered residents to evacuate on Tuesday as firefighters struggled to contain several blazes fuelled by dry winds, which burnt more than 17,000 hectares of land and a 1300-year-old Buddhist temple.

Houses, factories and vehicles were among the structures destroyed.

Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes in Andong, the neighbouring counties of Uiseong and Sancheong, and the city of Ulsan, where the fires were largest, South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.

South Korean officials had said firefighters were able to extinguish most of the flames from the largest fires in those areas, but ongoing dry and windy weather then caused setbacks and allowed the blazes to spread again.

Nearly 9000 firefighters, along with more than 130 helicopters and hundreds of vehicles, were deployed to battle the fires, but efforts were partially suspended overnight as the winds strengthened.

Officials in Andong and Uiseong county ordered residents in several villages and those near Andong University to evacuate to safe locations or temporary shelters – including schools and indoor gyms – as a fire that began in Uiseong continued to spread due to strong winds.

The blaze in Uiseong destroyed Gounsa, a Buddhist temple built in the seventh century, according to officials from the Korea Heritage Service. There were no immediate reports of injuries, and some of the temple’s national treasures, including a stone Buddha statue, were evacuated before the fire reached the wooden buildings.