Unprecedented forest fires in South Korea

South Korea authorities announced yesterday that 18 people were killed in a series of forest fires that resulted in “unprecedented damage” in the southeast of the country, where thousands of firefighters have been continuing five days ago their attempts to control them.

An official at the Korean Ministry of Security said that “18 people were killed in forest fires,” which also resulted in “six people were seriously injured and 13 others were slightly injured.”

For his part, the Acting President of the country, Han Duk Sue, announced that the fires had “unprecedented damage”, and their fire “expanded in a way that exceeded the existing prediction models and previous expectations.”

He added that “the forest fires that are raging for the fifth consecutive day, in Ulsan and the Gyeong Sang region, cause unprecedented damage.”

The temporary president announced that the government decided to address this catastrophic situation with a “comprehensive national response” and subsequently raised the crisis to the highest level.