South Korea Wildfires: Pilot Killed as Firefighting Helicopter Crashes

1 week ago 9

March 27, 2025 | 04:26 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A pilot of a helicopter was killed while extinguishing a wildfire in South Korea. The death toll from the wildfire also jumped to 24 people on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

The helicopter crashed on Wednesday. According to an eyewitness, the Forestry Department helicopter began making strange noises before it crashed to the ground. "It completely exploded and I couldn’t even tell which parts were the propellers," said 63-year-old Kim Jin-han to Reuters.

Video recordings from the scene showed scattered smoking debris on the hillside. The cause of the accident is being investigated, the authorities said.

The weather agency has predicted rain across South Korea on Thursday. However, only about 5 to 10 mm is expected in the areas affected by the fire.

More than 10,000 firefighters were deployed in four separate regions on Wednesday, including hundreds of police officers and military units. The Ministry of Safety said that 87 helicopters were involved in extinguishing the fire.

Kim Jong-gun, a spokesperson for the Forestry Department, said they plan to use more wildfire helicopters. The South Korean government has been criticized for lacking equipment and helicopters.

The fire broke out on Saturday and threatened several UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Hahoe Village and Byeongsan Confucian Academy in Andong on Wednesday, according to a city official. Authorities sprayed fire retardants to try to protect them.

The fire has burned down the Goun Temple, built in 681. The government has designated the affected area as a special disaster zone and stated that the fire has damaged more than 15,000 hectares of land.

The deadly wildfire has spread rapidly, forcing more than 27,000 people to flee their homes. As reported by Reuters, the wildfire, triggered by strong winds and dry weather, has burned down entire neighborhoods, closed schools, and forced authorities to relocate hundreds of inmates from prisons.

"We are deploying all available personnel and equipment in response to the worst wildfires ever but the situation is not good," said Acting President Han Duck-soo.

Due to its mountainous terrain, South Korea relies on helicopters for wildfire fighting. The helicopter fleet was temporarily suspended due to the incident.

The Uiseong fire can only be controlled by 68 percent. Strong winds worsened the situation, according to Lee Byung-doo, a forest disaster expert at the National Institute of Forest Science.

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