Hadong, April 7
Residents in the southern county of Hadong in South Korea were advised to evacuate to safe locations on Monday, as firefighters battled to contain a wildfire in the region, according to authorities.
The fire erupted at a mountain in Hadong, some 290 kms southeast of Seoul, at 12:05 p.m., according to the Korea Forest Service.
Hadong is one of the regions devastated by the nation's worst wildfires that were contained late last month.
The Korea Forest Service mobilised 15 firefighting helicopters and 105 personnel to put out the latest wildfire.
A man in his 70s was taken to a hospital with burns on both hands after attempting to put out the fire himself, according to the forest service.
Authorities suspect the man started the fire while working with a turf cutter, and plan to look into the exact cause of the blaze after it is extinguished, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, the South Korean government warned that a forecast of strong wind early this week could increase the risk of another massive wildfire outbreak in eastern coastal regions.
Lee Han-kyung, deputy chief of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, issued the warnings, as authorities contained the nation's worst-ever wildfires late last month.