At least 40 people in South Korea have died after a weekend of severe rains caused widespread flooding and landslides across the country.
The disasters have prompted calls from President Yoon Suk Yeol to “overhaul” how the country combats extreme weather arising from climate change.
On Monday, the nation was reeling from a tunnel tragedy where at least 13 people died in their vehicles after becoming trapped by floodwaters.
The full death toll is still unknown.
But on Monday, responders were still working to drain the 685m-long (2,247ft) tunnel in the central city of Cheongju – with divers deployed to retrieve victims.
At least 15 vehicles – including a bus – were trapped in the underpass on Saturday, when floodwater from a nearby burst riverbank poured in.
Nine survivors have been found so far. Meanwhile, families of those missing have waited anxiously for information at a local hospital.
“I have no hope but I can’t leave,” a parent of one of those missing in the tunnel told local news agency Yonhap.
“My heart wrenches thinking how painful it must have been for my son in the cold water.”
Police said they will launch an investigation into the fatal flooding of the underpass.
Elsewhere, at least 19 people died in the mountainous North Gyeongsang region in central South Korea after landslides swept away whole houses.
Source: bbc.com
