A large-scale search and rescue operation involving 400 workers and divers was launched Saturday after 15 vehicles, including a public bus, became trapped by rising flood waters in the Gungpyeong tunnel, the chief of local fire department Seo Jeong-il said. The deluge gushed through the tunnel when a levee of the nearby Miho river in North Chungcheong province failed, Seo said in a televised briefing, trapping the vehicles and those inside.
” Five bodies were discovered when divers searched the trapped bus, among the dead is a woman in her 70s, according to Seo. Dozens of people have died in South Korea in recent days as torrential monsoon rains triggered flooding and landslides across the country. Across the country, more than 5,500 people have been forced to evacuate their homes and seek temporary shelter, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Sunday.