(LEAD) S. Korea vows all-out efforts to put out wildfire in southeast

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest figures in paras 2, 4)

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government on Wednesday mobilized 57 choppers to help contain a wildfire in the southeastern city of Miryang, while vowing to make all-out efforts to put out the blaze.

The fire broke out on the previous day on a hill in Miryang, around 280 km southeast of Seoul. As of 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, firefighters said about 62 percent of the blaze had been brought under control.

The number of helicopters sent to the scene is higher than 51 deployed to fight another wildfire that broke out across Gangwon and North Gyeongsang Provinces in March.

The government also sent around 1,800 personnel, including firefighters and police officers, to fight the fire that has affected 544 hectares of land so far. The Korea Forest Service earlier issued the highest wildfire response level of three.

The all-out efforts to fight the wildfire came after President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed related agencies the previous day to "swiftly mobilize all available equipment and personnel" and "put all of their energy into quickly putting out the wildfire."

colin@yna.co.kr
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