South Korea wildfires kill at least two firefighters

At least two people died and hundreds evacuated their homes as wildfires raged in South Korea on Saturday.

Two firefighters were found dead in Sancheong County in the country’s south-east, news agency Yonhap reported, citing local officials.

Two others were reported missing as multiple fires blazed across the country, according to the Korea Forest Service.

A state of national disaster was declared at 18:00 local time (09:00 GMT), covering Ulsan city and North and South Gyeongsang provinces in the south-east.

More than 200 residents were ordered to leave their homes in eight villages because of the deadly fire in Sancheong County in South Gyeongsang province.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok had urged all efforts be put forward to extinguish the blaze by sunset, but strong winds hampered efforts at the scene around 250 kilometres (155 miles) southeast of Seoul.

Elsewhere, more than 400 residents were displaced because of a wildfire in Uiseong county in North Gyeongsang Province.

The forest service issued a serious wildfire warning in 12 locations, including Busan and the central city of Daejeon.