Death Toll from 'Daehyeong Sanbul' Rises to 24... 26 Injured (Update)

"Provisional Estimates Released"

The death toll from the large-scale wildfires that struck Gyeongbuk and Gyeongnam has risen to 24. As the wildfire spread rapidly and firefighting efforts slowed, casualties continued to increase.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters as of 4 p.m. on the 26th, the wildfire casualties are 24 dead, 12 seriously injured, and 14 lightly injured. However, the headquarters explained, "Since there are parts that require investigation, the figures released are provisional estimates."

Yonhap News

It has been six days since the wildfire started in Sancheong, Gyeongnam on the 21st, but as the fire spread rapidly, the scale of damage has also increased. In particular, the wildfire that occurred in Uiseong, Gyeongbuk spread to four cities and counties including Andong, resulting in numerous casualties.

Among the 24 deceased, 20 were victims of the Uiseong wildfire, and 4 were public officials and firefighters who died while suppressing the Sancheong wildfire. On the afternoon of the same day, near Sinpyeong-myeon, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk, a helicopter deployed for firefighting crashed, killing one pilot. Due to this accident, the deployment of firefighting helicopters was temporarily suspended.

Earlier, in Yeongyang-gun, it was found that three family members in their 50s to 60s had an overturn accident while evacuating by car. In Cheongsong-gun, two elderly people in their 70s and 80s were found dead at their homes. Some of the deceased in Yeongdeok-gun were residents of a silver town; three people died when their vehicle exploded due to the wildfire while evacuating by car.

As of 5 a.m. on the same day, the wildfire-affected area reached 17,534 hectares, increasing by about 5,000 hectares in one day. This is equivalent to the width of about 24,000 soccer fields suffering direct and indirect damage from the wildfire. A total of 27,079 residents evacuated, and 209 buildings were destroyed in Sancheong and Uiseong alone.

Since the previous day, strong winds exceeding 10 m/s and warm temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius have continued, making firefighting efforts difficult. Rain is forecast for the 27th, but the expected rainfall in the wildfire-affected areas is only about 5 to 10 mm.