South Korea fires: 18 dead as acting president speaks of ‘unprecedented damage’

A 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple is among buildings destroyed after dry and windy weather saw mostly contained blazes spread again

At least 18 people have died and another 19 injured as wildfires ravaged South Korea’s southern regions amid dry weather and strong winds, according to government officials.

Han Duck-soo, South Korea’s prime minister and acting president, said five days of fires had caused “unprecedented damage” and asked agencies tackling the disaster to “assume the worst-case scenario and respond accordingly”, according to Yonhap news agency.