Thousands have been displaced and 28 people died in the fires that broke out last week, with at least 18 designated heritage sites or objects being destroyed or damaged.

Wildfires in South Korea have resulted in deaths, turned an ancient Buddhist temple into ashes and forced the evacuation of residents of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

South Korean police detained a man suspected of performing an ancestral rite that later grew into the country’s worst wildfire, killing at least 26 people and destroying ancient temples. Authorities said yesterday he is believed to have begun the fire in south-eastern Uiseong County at a family grave on March 22.