More than 30 people have been killed, several are missing and thousands have been evacuated after heavy rain caused floods and landslides in South Korea on Saturday.
Rescue efforts were still underway Sunday to reach about 15 cars stuck in a flooded 430-meter-long road tunnel in Cheongju, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
According to authorities in South Korea, on Sunday at least seven dead people were found in a bus that got stuck in the tunnel.
400 in the rescue work
Nine survivors are said to have been rescued from the tunnel, but it is not yet known how many people in total may be in vehicles in the tunnel.
Close to 400 people, including divers, are searching the water-filled tunnel. At the same time, rescue workers are working to try to pump out the water.
According to a spokesperson for the North Chungcheong Province Emergency Services, it may take several hours to pump out all the water. He says that there is still 4-5 meters of water in the tunnel, which is also filled with mud and rubble.
Heavy rains
South Korea has been hit by heavy rains since July 9. Close to 6,000 people have been evacuated and roughly 27,000 households have been without electricity in recent days. Dozens of homes are also said to have been destroyed, according to information from the Ministry of the Interior.
According to South Korea’s weather service, the heavy rains will continue over parts of the country.