Death toll rises to 28 in S. Korea's worst-ever wildfires

SEOUL -- The death toll rose to 28, with 37 others injured, in South Korea's worst-ever wildfires, government compilation showed Friday.

Since March 21, infernos had broken out in 11 areas, mostly in the southeastern Gyeongsang province, and five of them were completely extinguished, according to the central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters.

In the remaining six areas, 83 percent of the fires were put out on average at 5:00 am local time.

The blazes affected at least 48,150.61 hectares of woodland, marking the country's worst-ever wildfire damage. The previous high was in 2000 when 23,794 hectares of land were ravaged.

Of the wounded, nine people suffered serious injuries. Most of the victims were those aged 60 or higher, according to the headquarters.

The number of affected buildings and structures, such as houses and agricultural facilities, advanced to 3,481, while 23 cultural assets were destroyed. Still displaced were 8,078 people of 2,407 households.

Firefighters struggled to contain the rapidly spreading blazes, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions.

The country's forest service raised the wildfire crisis alert to the highest level on Tuesday.

More than 8,100 people, including firefighters, soldiers, police officers and government officials, as well as 109 helicopters and 967 firefighting equipments were mobilized to combat the wildfires.