Landslides caused 18 deaths in South Korea

Torrential rains in South Korea have caused the landslide, leaving 18 people dead and swept away several houses this morning.

According to the National Disaster Management Korea (NEMA), 12 people died in landslides in the mountains of Chuncheon, the capital, 100 kilometers east of Seoul, damaging a house inn and 3. 5 people killed in Bangbaedong, southern Seoul and a death in the mountains Umyeon. All landslides are affected by heavy rains, with 380mm of rain was measured from yesterday.

Rescuers are saving victims of a landslide. (Photo: Yonhap)

AFP said 500 firefighters and police were mobilized to carry out search and rescue in Chuncheon. 10 of the victims were students of Inha University, Incheon, west of the city. They had an accident while participating in volunteer work in the area. "I was sleeping in the inn's second floor, then heard the sound like thunder of landslides. The ladder collapsed and I was buried under the mud, "one student was rescued, told news agency Yonhap .

Congestion due to heavy rains two days in Seoul. (Photo: Yonhap)

According to NEMA, in addition to deaths, there are 20 others were injured and four of them seriously injured. In Seoul, police declared a state of emergency, mobilizing more than a thousand employees to solve traffic jams and blocked roads too dangerous. Streets, subway stations, tunnels and flooded residential areas around the capital Seoul. In Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, Yonhap said three people had been missing since the river level rises.

Two men walking on the streets flooded. (Photo: Yonhap)

"We are flooded with a lot of notice rescue, and not easy to fully assess the damage at the moment," an official of NEMA told AFP . The agency said the floods and landslides have blocked 36 roads across the country, including 23 in Seoul and more than 700 homes were flooded in the capital. Local media reported that more than 150 traffic lights malfunctioning in Seoul, worsening traffic situation, while the mobile phone network was cut off in some areas.