South Korea struggles to tame wildfires that killed 28

The wildfires have burned 38,665 hectares of land, according to the disaster response centre

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Helicopters dumped water over a burning forest in South Korea on Thursday as fire crews struggled to contain the country's worst-ever wildfires, which have killed 28 people, forced at least 37,800 to flee their homes and destroyed thousands of structures and vehicles.

Multiple wildfires fueled by strong winds and dry weather have been raging across South Korea's southeastern regions since last Friday. The government has mobilized thousands of personnel, dozens of helicopters and other equipment to extinguish the blazes, but gusty winds are hampering their efforts.

Rain was expected later Thursday. But Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop said the amount—less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) is forecast—likely won't help much in extinguishing the wildfires.