Wildfires raging in South Korea doubled in size from a day earlier, as authorities called the blazes the country's worst natural fire disaster with at least 27 people killed and historic temples incinerated.

The country’s largest blaze on record has left 27 dead and destroyed heritage sites, including two 1,000-year-old temples.

The Gounsa temple was reportedly originally built in 681 A.D. during the Shilla dynasty that ruled more than half of the Korean Peninsula