The death toll from rain-caused floods and landslides in South Korea has climbed to 49, while over 10,000 people have been moved to safer areas. Heavy downpours lashed South Korea a ninth day on Monday as rescue workers struggled to search for survivors in landslides, buckled homes and swamped vehicles in the most destructive storm to hit the country this year.
The government has deployed nearly 900 rescue workers to the tunnel, who have so far pulled up 13 bodies and rescued nine people who were treated for injuries. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were in the submerged cars.
As of Monday afternoon, rescue workers had pumped out most of the water from the tunnel and were searching the site on foot, a day after they used rubber boats to move and transport bodies on stretchers.
Hundreds of emergency workers, soldiers and police were also looking for any survivors in the southeastern town of Yechon, where at least nine people were dead and eight others listed as missing after landslides destroyed homes and buckled roads, the county office said.