SEOUL, South Korea (SONNA) — Days of heavy rain in South Korea have left at least 26 people dead and 10 others missing in landslides, floods and other incidents, the government said Saturday.
The 26 fatalities were reported on Friday and Saturday, all in the central and southeastern regions, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said in a report.
Rescue workers in South Korea have recovered seven bodies from a bus trapped in a flooded underground tunnel, according to media reports, as days of torrential rains caused widespread flooding, landslides and the overflow of a major dam.
Officials in the central town of Osong told the Yonhap news agency on Sunday that rescue workers recovered an additional six bodies from the 685-meter-long (2,247 feet) tunnel as they scrambled to reach several people who remained trapped there.
An earlier ministry report on Saturday morning said five people died after landslides caused by torrential downpours buried their houses. Two others also died in landslide-related incidents. But the latest ministry report didn’t explain the cause of deaths for the additional fatalities.
Ministry officials said torrential rains have also left 10 people missing since Tuesday, and 13 others injured since Thursday.
South Korea has been pounded by heavy rains since July 9. The ministry report said the rainfall had forced about 5,570 people to evacuate and left 25,470 households without electricity in the past several days. It said more than 4,200 people remained in temporary shelters as of Saturday night.
Also Saturday, 20 flights were canceled, and the country’s regular train service and some of its bullet trains were suspended, the ministry said. It said nearly 200 roads remained closed.
South Korea’s weather agency said some parts of the country will continue to receive heavy rain until Sunday. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was visiting Ukraine on Saturday, asked Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to mobilize all available resources to respond to the disaster, according to Yoon’s office.
Source: Agencies
