"Prolonged Monsoon Increases Accidents" ... 119 Rescue Teams Saved Over 86,000 People Last Year

Rescue Activities Decreased by 7.4% from 2019 to Approximately 660,000 Cases

Rescue operations during a drowning accident in Geumsan-gun, Chungnam Province on June 15 last year.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Last year, as the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reduced citizens' outdoor activities, the rescue operations of the 119 rescue team decreased by 6% compared to the previous year. However, due to the prolonged rainy season, water-related accident dispatches increased by more than 40%.

According to the Fire Agency on the 17th, last year, a total of 838,194 rescue operations were dispatched, handling 665,744 cases and rescuing 86,714 people.

This averages to 2,296 dispatches per day, handling 1,824 cases and rescuing 238 people daily. Over the course of the year, approximately 1 in every 78 people in the country received help from the 119 rescue team.

Compared to 2019, rescue dispatches decreased by 6.2% (55,412 cases), rescue cases by 7.4% (53,484 cases), and the number of people rescued by 13.2% (13,208 people). This is analyzed to be due to the implementation of social distancing measures amid the spread of COVID-19, which reduced foot traffic, and the long rainy season that significantly decreased dispatches for beehive removals (31,352 cases↓, 21%↓) and fire accidents (5,200 cases↓, 5.5%↓).

On the other hand, water-related accidents such as searches for missing persons and salvage operations caused by typhoons and heavy rains increased by 41% (3,616 cases) compared to the previous year.

By accident type, beehive removals accounted for the largest share at 20% (133,131 cases), followed by fire accidents at 13.4% (89,251 cases), and traffic accidents at 9.4% (62,481 cases).

By accident location, apartment complexes accounted for the highest proportion at 27.1% (180,697 cases), followed by roads and railways at 18.8% (125,349 cases), and detached houses at 12.8% (85,035 cases). Safety accidents in residential facilities and road traffic accidents together accounted for more than half of the cases.

By month, rescue activities were highest in August at 17.3% (115,266 cases), followed by September at 12.7% (84,756 cases), and July at 11.5% (76,374 cases). From July to September, rescue cases accounted for 41.5% of the total. By day of the week, Saturday had the highest number of cases at 111,765 (15.5%), while Thursday had the lowest at 98,086 (13.6%).

By region, Gyeonggi Province had the highest number of rescue activities at 198,885 cases (23.7%), followed by Seoul with 143,885 cases (17.2%), Gyeongbuk with 53,039 cases (7.1%), and Gyeongnam with 45,930 cases (7.1%). Rescue activities in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul and Incheon, accounted for 44.2% of the nationwide total.

In particular, rescue activities increased in Daegu, Gwangju, Sejong, Chungnam, Jeonnam, and Jeju Island, which was attributed to the rise in water-related accidents and safety measures related to typhoons and heavy rains.

Baek Deok-gon, Director of the 119 Rescue and Emergency Medical Services Bureau at the Fire Agency, stated, "We will analyze the causes of the significant damage caused by last year's heavy rains and prepare countermeasures to reduce damage, while strengthening training to prepare for various disaster situations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.