South Korea mountain fire under control: Officials

The fire began at a house in the county located some 160 km northeast of Seoul late Friday, and later spread to a nearby forest on gusts of wind, reports Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean officials said on Saturday that fire fighters have put out most of the blaze on a mountain in Goseong, which forced hundreds of people to evacuate, with the operation expected to be completed by later in the day.

The fire began at a house in the county located some 160 km northeast of Seoul late Friday, and later spread to a nearby forest on gusts of wind, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Authorities have mobilized some 500 fire trucks and 39 helicopters to extinguish the fire, bringing the main blaze under control at around 8 a.m., roughly 12 hours after it broke out.

No casualties were reported from the blaze, but it was estimated to have destroyed 85 hectares of forest and some houses.

More than 300 residents were evacuated due to the fire, along with some 1,800 military officials stationed in the region.

Goseong was the site of a catastrophic forest fire about a year earlier that also spread on strong gusts.

The 2019 inferno destroyed more than 1,300 buildings, including 400 homes, while killing one person.

( With inputs from IANS )