Seoul, March 31 (IANS) South Korean police, firefighters and relevant authorities on Monday conducted their first joint on-site investigation at the original point of ignition for the nation’s worst wildfires in history that charred vast areas of woodland in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang last week.
The forest fire was allegedly accidentally ignited by a 56-year-old man on a hill in North Gyeongsang county Uiseong’s Anpyeong district, about 180 kilometres southeast of Seoul, on March 22.
It rapidly spread to Andong and three adjacent counties amid high winds and dry conditions for nearly a week, killing 26 people and destroying an estimated 4,000 structures.
Police booked the man without detention last Friday on suspicion of accidentally starting the fire while tending to his grandparents’ grave site, with some news reports saying that he tried to burn tree branches over the grave with a cigarette lighter.
The Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency said the first on-site investigation was conducted at the grave site and the surrounding hill, together with the National Forensic Service, the National Institute of Forest Science and the firefighting authorities, Yonhap news agency reported.
They used a drone and other methods to confirm the cause of the fire and the direction in which the flames spread with the wind. They also searched the areas around the ignition point to confirm whether there was any incinerated material that could have started the forest fire.
Earlier on Saturday, police conducted a basic field investigation at the grave site for about two hours, collecting one lighter from its surroundings.
The suspect has denied the allegations against him, police officials said, adding he will be summoned and questioned after all basic fact-finding is completed.
Earlier on March 30, massive wildfires that ravaged the provinces of North and South Gyeongsang for over a week have been fully contained.
South Korean acting Interior Minister Ko Ki-dong made the announcement during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), saying the main blaze of the wildfires that swept through both provinces has been fully extinguished.
–IANS
int/jk/rad
