Military deploys choppers, personnel to fight Daegu wildfires
Helicopters dump water on a mountain in Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province, as a wildfire continues for a second day. Yonhap
The military has mobilized 11 helicopters to help combat wildfires that have continued for the second consecutive day in the southeastern city of Daegu, the defense ministry said Tuesday.
Five CH-47 Chinook helicopters are conducting aerial water drop operations, in addition to six Surion utility helicopters that had joined the firefighting operations as of 11 a.m., according to the ministry.
The ministry said some 130 troops at the Army's 50th Division are on standby for potential on-ground firefighting operations.
The blaze that broke out Monday on Mount Hamji in northern Daegu, some 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has forced some 2,000 people to flee their homes. No casualties have been reported so far, with the containment rate standing at 92 percent.