South Korea's Hadong wildfire brought under control on second day

HADONG (South Korea): A wildfire in the southern county of Hadong, South Korea, was mostly contained Tuesday, a day after the blaze reignited in a region battered by the nation's worst wildfires in history last month.

The main fires had been brought under control in Hadong, some 290 kilometres southeast of Seoul, as of 11 pm Monday, with 99 per cent of them contained, according to the Korea Forest Service.

The forest service issued a fire response Level 2 and deployed 36 helicopters and other personnel to battle the blaze, but failed to bring the major flames under control before sunset.

Since then, authorities have mobilised 72 pieces of equipment and 753 personnel to continue firefighting operations overnight.

The forest service plans to deploy helicopters to the scene again after sunrise.

Meanwhile, 506 residents affected by the fire fled to a nearby school for safety, officials said.

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP