As forest fire extinguishing work is prolonged in northern Gyeongsangbuk-do, the damage to firefighters is also increasing. In Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, where the forest fire spread for five days on the 26th, a helicopter that was under fire at the site of the forest fire crashed, killing the driver. It has been identified as an old model that has been in operation for nearly 30 years.

According to the fire authorities, a helicopter crashed in the forest of Sinpyeong-myeon, Uiseong, which was working to extinguish forest fires in the afternoon. According to witnesses at the time of the accident, the helicopter crashed after being caught in a telephone pole while containing fire extinguishing water. It was confirmed that the captain Park (73), who was driving the helicopter at the time, was killed in the accident. At that time, it was reported that Park was alone in the helicopter.

In the wake of the accident, the Korea Forest Service temporarily suspended the operation of extinguishing helicopters that had been deployed to forest fire sites across the country to stabilize the psychological stability of helicopter pilots. However, as most of the forest fire areas were difficult to access by car or on foot, they could not prevent the spread of forest fires, and helicopters resumed operation about two hours after the accident. Although the cause of the accident has not been identified, there is a possibility that the aging of the helicopter for extinguishing wildfires is a problem.

Meanwhile, four Black Hawk (UH-60) and Chinook (CH-47) helicopters belonging to the U.S. Forces Korea Command will also be deployed to extinguish forest fires in Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do. While maintaining military preparedness, the Ministry of National Defense is determined to actively support available power to extinguish wildfires.

[Reporter Moon Kwangmin]