Rescuers pull out eight bodies from flooded South Korea tunnel as death toll rises to 35

Rescue workers race against time to save people trapped in a flooded tunnel

Rescue workers in South Korea pulled eight bodies from a flooded tunnel as the number of deaths due to incessant rains and landslides reached 35 nationwide.

At least 10 people were missing on Sunday, while thousands had to evacuate their homes as days of heavy rain triggered flash floods and landslides, authorities said.

Nearly 400 rescue workers, including divers, were searching the tunnel in the central city of Cheongju where vehicles, including a bus, were swamped by a flash flood on Saturday evening.

Seo Jeong-il, head of the west Cheongju fire station, said some 15 vehicles, including a bus, are believed to have been submerged in the underpass.

“We are focusing on the search operation as there’s likely more people there,” Mr Seo told reporters. “We are doing our best to wrap it up today.”

The 685-metre-long underpass was flooded on Saturday after a nearby river overflowed after an embankment was brought down by rising water levels.

Rescue workers were seen pumping brown water out of the tunnel as divers used rubber boats to move in and out of the area. Yang Chan-mo, an official from the North Chungcheong provincial fire department, said it could take several hours to pump all the water from the tunnel, which was filled with 13 to 16.4 feet of water dense with mud and other debris.

Earlier in the day, nine survivors were rescued from the tunnel. It was unclear how many people were trapped underwater.

South Korean rescue workers search for missing persons along a deluged road leading to a tunnel in Cheongju (YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images)

One survivor from the submerged tunnel said the government should have restricted access to the underpass when flooding was expected, according to Yonhap news agency.

The rainfall had forced more than 6,100 people to evacuate and left 27,260 households without electricity as flooding destroyed dozens of homes, the interior and safety ministry said.

Most fatalities were reported in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang, where 17 people died, largely due to landslides and housing collapses. Nine people were reported missing from the region.

One more person remained missing in Busan, while at least 22 people were being treated for injuries across the country.

A man sits next to his collapsed house after a landslide caused by heavy rain in Yecheon, South Korea (AP)

The Korea Railroad Corp announced the halting of all slow trains and a few bullet trains, while other trains might be delayed due to landslides threatening safety.

Heavy rainfall has been lashing parts of South Korea since 9 July. The disaster took place despite the government vowing to ramp up preparedness after the capital Seoul was hit by the heaviest downpours in 115 years.

Central and southern parts of the country are expected to receive as much as 12 inches of additional rain by Tuesday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who paid a surprise visit to Ukraine, instructed prime minister Han Duck-soo to mobilise all available resources to minimise the casualties.