Multiple wildfires raging across South Korea’s southern regions for days forced at least 37,800 to flee their homes.

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.

Light rain offered some relief to South Korean authorities tackling the country's worst wildfires on record, with exhausted firefighters making another push on Friday to contain blazes stretching 70 km (44 miles).