South Korean police said on Sunday they booked a man suspected of starting what grew into the country's largest wildfire, killing at least 26 people and razing thousands of buildings including historic temples.

A burnt vehicle, in which a village leader Kwon and his wife were found dead while they were on their way back to their village to rescue other people during a wildfire, lies on the side of a road, in Yeongyang, South Korea, March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

The death toll included a pilot who died after a helicopter crashed during efforts to contain wildfires in the southeastern town of Uiseong, one of the areas hardest-hit.