SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean rescuers pulled seven bodies from a flooded tunnel where around 15 vehicles were trapped in muddy water, as days of heavy rain triggered flash floods and mudslides and destroyed homes, leaving at least 33 dead and forcing thousands to withdraw. evacuate, authorities said Sunday.
Nearly 400 rescuers, including divers, were searching the tunnel in the central city of Cheongju, where vehicles, including a bus, were inundated by a flash flood late Saturday, said Seo Jeong-il, chief of the Cheongju fire department. the city, in an informative session
Photos and video from the scene showed rescuers establishing a perimeter and scooping brown water out of the tunnel as divers used rubber boats to get in and out of the area.
Yang Chan-mo, an official with the North Chungcheong province fire department, said it could take several hours to pump all the water out of the tunnel, which was still filled with 13 to 16.4 feet of thick water with mud and other debris. Workers were moving slowly with the work to prevent victims or survivors from being swept away, Yang said.
Nine survivors were rescued from the tunnel and 11 others were believed to be missing based on reports from families or others, but the exact number of passengers trapped in the vehicles was not immediately clear, Seo said.
South Korea has been hit by heavy rain since July 9. The rain forced the evacuation of more than 6,100 people and left 27,260 homes without power in recent days while flooding or destroying dozens of homes, the Interior and Security Ministry said. At least 22 people were being treated for injuries.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a trip to Europe, discussed the casualties and rain-related damage during an emergency meeting while traveling to Poland on a train after visiting Ukraine on Saturday, according to his office. Yoon called on officials to mobilize all available resources to respond to the disaster.
