'Deadly Heat' ... Two Die While Working in Fields in Changnyeong and Changwon

Firefighters are providing emergency treatment to a heat illness patient in the ambulance.

As the scorching heatwave continues day after day, the number of heat-related deaths in the Gyeongnam region this summer has risen to four.

According to fire and police authorities on the 4th, a report was received at around 2:05 p.m. on the 3rd that a person had collapsed at the entrance of a village in Changnyeong-eup, Changnyeong-gun, where a heatwave advisory was in effect.

A woman in her 70s, referred to as Ms. A, was urgently transported to the hospital by responding firefighters, but she passed away at around 2:40 p.m. due to acute cardiac arrest caused by heat.

It was found that Ms. A, who farms perilla, had gone out to work in the field that day.

On the same day at around 4:54 p.m., a 119 emergency call was received reporting that a woman in her 50s, working alone in a field in Masanhappo-gu, Changwon, had lost consciousness and collapsed.

Ms. B was transferred by fire authorities to a university hospital in Daegu, but died around midnight the next day from multiple organ failure caused by heat.

At the time, Ms. B's body temperature was reported to have reached 41 degrees Celsius, as confirmed by firefighters.

Earlier, at around 8:15 p.m. on the 1st, an elderly woman in her 80s died while working in a field in Daegok-myeon, Jinju, where a heatwave advisory had been issued.

At around 1:26 p.m. on the 2nd, a woman in her 60s living in Bubuk-myeon, Miryang, collapsed while working in a perilla field and was taken to the hospital for treatment, but ultimately did not regain consciousness.

This summer, the number of heat-related illness cases in Gyeongnam from May 20 to August 3 reached 184, which is higher than the 110 cases reported during the same period last year.

Since July 28, Gyeongnam Province has raised the heatwave crisis alert level to "severe" and has been operating the first stage of the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, maintaining emergency duty.

The province, along with cities and counties, is urging the public to follow heat illness prevention guidelines such as refraining from outdoor work in rice paddies and fields or at construction sites, drinking plenty of water, resting in the shade, and using sunshades, through safety alert text messages, electronic displays, promotional materials, and public announcements.