South Korea: At least 33 killed after torrential rain unleashes flooding and landslides

Published

2 years ago

July 16, 2023

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At least 33 people have died after torrential downpours triggered deadly flash floods and landslides in South Korea.

The country has been hit by heavy rainfall since 9 July, which has intensified in the past three days and is expected to continue in some regions until Sunday.

Rescue workers have so far pulled seven bodies from a flooded tunnel where around 15 vehicles were trapped in muddy water.

Nearly 400 rescue workers, including divers, were searching the tunnel in the central city of Cheongju, where the vehicles, including a bus, were swamped by a flash flood Saturday evening, Seo Jeong-il, chief of the city’s fire department, said in a briefing.

Photos and video from the scene showed rescue workers establishing a perimeter and 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 out all the water from the tunnel, which was still filled with 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16.4 feet) of water dense with mud and other debris.

Workers were proceeding slowly with the work to prevent any victims or survivors from being swept out, Yang said.

Nine survivors were rescued from the tunnel and 11 others were believed to be missing based on reports by families or others, but the exact number of passengers trapped in vehicles wasn’t immediately clear, Seo said.

Thousands are being evacuated after a dam in North Chungcheong province came perilously close to overflowing on Saturday morning.

As of 9am local time, more than 2,700 tonnes of water was flowing into Goesan Dam – the maximum amount it can discharge.

The 22 fatalities were reported on Friday and Saturday, all in the central and southeastern regions, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said in a report.

Landslides claimed the lives of five people on Saturday, burying houses in two central towns, the ministry said, in an earlier statement.

Two people died on Friday in a building collapse caused by landslides in the central city of Nonsan.

The report said torrential rains have also left 14 people missing since Tuesday, and 13 others injured since Thursday.

However, the latest ministry report didn’t explain the cause of deaths for the additional fatalities.

More than 1,500 people have been forced to flee their homes while thousands more have been deprived of electricity.

A train in the North Chungcheong province was derailed by a landslide, which hurled debris on the rail tracks, according to the transport ministry.

A train engineer was injured but there were no passengers on board during the incident on Thursday.

Train operator Korea Railroad Corp announced it was cancelling all slow trains and bullet trains, with some services delayed due to ongoing safety fears.

South Korea’s Prime Minister, Han Duck-soo, has called on the military to assist in the rescue operation by working with government officials to mobilise equipment and manpower.

The incidents follow the death of at least eight people after record rainfall pounded the South Korean capital and surrounding areas in August last year, leaving 14 injured.

More than 100 homes were evacuated to temporary shelters to avoid floodwaters, as the downpours transformed the streets of Seoul’s usually bustling Gangnam district into rivers.

More than 5.5 inches of rain fell per hour (14cm per hour) at one stage – the highest hourly downpour measured in the capital since 1942.

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Israel and Syria agree to ceasefire, says US ambassador to Turkey

Published

50 mins ago

July 19, 2025

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Israel and Syria agree to ceasefire, says US ambassador to Turkey

Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, the US ambassador to Turkey has said.

Several hundred people have reportedly been killed this week in the south of Syria in violence involving local fighters, government authorities and Bedouin tribes.

As the violence escalated in the southern province of Sweida, Israel launched airstrikes, including attacks on Wednesday on the defence ministry in Damascus and a target near the presidential palace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government said it aimed to protect Syrian Druze – part of a small but influential minority that also has followers in Lebanon and Israel.

In a post on X, the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, said Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and others.

“We call upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity,” Mr Barrack said in a post on X.

The Israeli embassy in Washington and Syrian Consulate in Canada did not immediately comment or respond to requests for comment from the Reuters news agency.

The ceasefire announcement came after the US worked to put an end to the conflict, with secretary of state Marco Rubio saying on Wednesday that steps had been agreed to end a “troubling and horrifying situation”.

After Israel warned it would destroy forces attacking Syrian Druze, Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa told the minority group in a televised statement on Thursday that “we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party”.

He then claimed Israel has “consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime”.

It comes after the United Nations’ migration agency said earlier on Friday that nearly 80,000 people had been displaced in the region since violence broke out on Sunday.

It also said that essential services, including water and electricity, had collapsed in Sweida, telecommunications systems were widely disrupted, and health facilities in Sweida and Daraa were under severe strain.

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World

‘Horrific incident’ at sheriff training facility in LA – at least three people dead

Published

7 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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'Horrific incident' at sheriff training facility in LA - at least three people dead

At least three people have been killed after a “horrific incident” at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training facility, officials have said.

A spokesperson for the department said there was an explosion at the Biscailuz Center Academy Training in east LA.

The incident was reported at around 7.30am local time (3.30pm UK time).

Aerial footage from local channel KABC-TV suggests the blast happened in a parking lot filled with sheriff patrol cars and box trucks.

Attorney general Pam Bondi wrote on X: “I just spoke to @USAttyEssayli about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles.

“Our federal agents are at the scene and we are working to learn more.”

California congressman Jimmy Sanchez said the explosion had “claimed the lives of at least three deputies”.

“My condolences to the families and everyone impacted by this loss,” he said.

The attorney general said in a follow-up post that agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are “on the ground to support”.

The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, said the LAPD bomb squad has also responded to the scene.

“The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of those impacted by this blast,” she said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the incident, his press office said in a post on X.

“The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is in contact with the Sheriff’s Department and closely monitoring the situation, and has offered full state assistance,” it added.

The cause of the explosion is being investigated.

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Unmasked: The 18 Russian spies who mounted series of attacks on UK

Published

7 hours ago

July 18, 2025

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Unmasked: The 18 Russian spies who mounted series of attacks on UK

Dozens of Russian spies have been sanctioned by the government – including those responsible for targeting Yulia Skripal five years before her attempted murder in Salisbury.

The Foreign Office has announced that three units of the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) have been hit with sanctions, alongside 18 military intelligence officers.

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GRU officers attempted to murder Yulia Skipal and her father Sergei using the deadly Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury.

The 18 military intelligence officers have been targeted because of a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity over many years, including in the UK, the Foreign Office said.

The government also accused the GRU of using cyber and information operations to “sow chaos, division and disorder in Ukraine and across the world”.

One of the groups sanctioned, Unit 26165, conducted online reconnaissance to help target missile strikes against Mariupol, including the bombing of Mariupol Theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were murdered.

Other military officers who have been sanctioned previously targeted Yulia Skripal’s mobile phone with malicious malware known as X-Agent.

The Skripals had moved to the UK after Sergei Skripal became a double agent, secretly working for the UK. He was tried for high treason and imprisoned in Russia – and later exchanged in a spy swap.

But five years after Yulia’s phone was targeted, the pair were poisoned with the nerve agent, Novichok, in Salisbury. Russia has always denied being involved in the chemical attack.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

“The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won’t tolerate it.”

He said the UK was taking “decisive action” with the sanctions against Russian spies.

“Putin’s hybrid threats and aggression will never break our resolve. The UK and our allies’ support for Ukraine and Europe’s security is ironclad.”

Those sanctioned today include: