4 killed, 13 still missing in festival fire

 

Thirteen people are still missing in a mountain fire that has killed four people and injured dozens more during a traditional festival on Monday, police said.

 

A fire set by the Changnyeong municipal government on a pampas grass field on Mount Hwawang in South Gyeongsang Province, was blown past its 50-meter fire control line by a crosswind, causing thousands of participants to flee the scene.

 

As of Tuesday morning, police have only identified two of the four bodies, reportedly three women and one man, because they were severely burned. More than 70 people who were injured were also mostly burn victims.

 

Police said the four were on top of a large rock to get a better view of the festival when the fire engulfed them, and fell about 10 meters to their deaths.

 

The festival marking the first full moon of the lunar new year on the mountain, whose name means "big fire mountain" in Korean, originates from an old tale about the force of fire bringing good crops and happiness.

 

According to witnesses, soon after the fire got out of control, pandemonium ensued as onlookers were forced to jump off cliffs to evade the gorging fire.

 

Meanwhile, Kim Chung-sik, head of the Changnyeong County, said today the triennial mountain festival will be abolished.

 

 

Source: The Korea Herald