The death toll from flooding and landslides stemming from heavy rains in South Korea has risen to 35, with ten missing and more than 7,800 people evacuated from their homes.
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, among the dead were seven people whose bodies were recovered from inside a bus that was trapped in an underground tunnel in the city of Osong, located in North Chungcheong province.
The tunnel, about 700 meters long, was flooded on Saturday after a river breached levees due to heavy flooding from torrential rains.
In total, nine people died inside the tunnel, although it is feared that the death toll could rise in the coming hours, as search and rescue work continues, and several people are expected to have been trapped in their vehicles.
North Gyeongsang province is the most affected by the situation, with 17 dead and more than 2,300 people evacuated due to the rains, which also caused the closure of some 220 roads and the suppression of all rail transport.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo promised that “search and rescue operations for the missing will be accelerated and called on the authorities to do everything possible to guarantee the safety of the population.”
Source: TSF
