South Korea in natural disaster alert after wildfire breaks out near nuclear plant
Thousands of people fled their homes in South Korea when a large wildfire engulfed hillsides on the nation’s east coast.
Authorities issued a natural disaster alert as the fire tore through the countryside and threatened homes in Uljin county.
At one point it was feared the flames would engulf a nuclear power station before being driven away by winds.
The fire broke out this morning and has destroyed at least 22 homes and nine other structures, according to officials at the National Fire Agency and the Korea Forest Service.
At the time of publication around 1,000 firefighters were still battling the blaze amid strong winds.
They were understood to be focusing their efforts on preventing the blaze from reaching a liquified natural gas facility near the city of Samcheok.
Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from their homes as the fire spread, but all but 161 have returned, National Fire Agency official Lee Jae-hoon said.
At one point the fire reached the perimeter of a nuclear power plant, forcing operations to be reduced to 50%.
Hundreds of firefighters were deployed to the plant and managed to keep the flames under control before winds drove the fire northward, said another official Kang Dae-hoon.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.
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