SEOUL, July 18, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Rescue workers recovered the last body and
ended search operations at a flooded underpass in South Korea where more than
a dozen people died in an incident that is now the subject of multiple
official probes.

South Korea is at the peak of its summer monsoon season, and days of
torrential rain have caused widespread flooding and landslides, with rivers
bursting their banks, and reservoirs and dams overflowing. More rain is
forecast in the coming days.

The interior ministry said that 41 people were killed and another nine were
still missing nationwide in the heavy downpours, most of them buried by
landslides or falling into a flooded reservoir.

Search and rescue operations at the 430-metre (1,410-foot) tunnel in
Cheongju, North Chungcheong province, ended late Monday after rescuers
recovered the last body, it said.

The tunnel was inundated on Saturday morning after floodwaters swept in too
quickly for the vehicles inside to escape.

A total of 17 vehicles, including a bus, were trapped and 14 people were
killed, the interior ministry said.

The tunnel will remain closed for additional inspections as part of the probe
into the cause of the deadly incident, it added.

On Monday, the South Korean government and police launched separate enquiries
into the flooding of the tunnel, with President Yoon Suk Yeol blaming
mismanagement of danger zones for the loss of life.

The majority of the casualties nationwide -- including 19 of the dead and
eight of the missing -- were from North Gyeongsang province, and were largely
due to massive landslides in the mountainous area that engulfed houses with
people inside.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast more heavy rain through
Wednesday, and urged the public to "refrain from going outside".

South Korea is regularly hit by flooding during the summer monsoon period,
but the country is typically well-prepared and the death toll is usually
relatively low.

Scientists say climate change has made weather events around the world more
extreme and more frequent.

South Korea endured record-breaking rains and flooding last year, which left
more than 11 people dead.

They included three people who died trapped in a Seoul basement apartment of
the kind that became internationally known because of the Oscar-winning
Korean film "Parasite".

The government said at the time that the 2022 flooding was the heaviest
rainfall since Seoul weather records began 115 years ago, blaming climate
change for the extreme weather.