Seoul, Jun 2 (IANS): A wildfire continued to rage for a third day in South Korea on Thursday despite firefighting efforts involving dozens of helicopters.

The fire that broke out on a hill in Miryang, around 280 km southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday, is continuing to spread rapidly, driven by strong winds and a dry spell, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Forestry and firefighting authorities dispatched 53 helicopters to resume their firefighting operation as soon as operations resumed on Thursday morning and dispatched some 2,450 personnel to join the battle later in the day.

The choppers included 16 from the Army and three from the Air Force, according to the Defence Ministry.

The military also plans to send some 590 service members to aid the firefighting efforts on Thursday.

The blaze has burned nearly 700 hectares of forestland as of Thursday, while the fire extinguishing rate climbed to 73 per cent.

No casualties or property damage have been reported yet.

The Korea Forest Service retained its highest Level-3 wildfire response posture as of Thursday.