Search for Namyangju Middle School Girl Missing in Rapids Continues into Second Month

Search Operation Prolonged... But No Personal Belongings Found

Fire authorities increased personnel and equipment on August 12, the fourth day since Miss A went missing, to conduct search operations. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, provided by Namyangju City.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The search operation to find a missing middle school girl who was swept away by water while crossing a stone bridge in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province during the heavy rains last August has been ongoing for nearly two months.

According to the fire authorities on the 6th, 25 firefighters were deployed the previous day to conduct the 58th day of search operations centered around Paldang Lake to find the missing middle school girl, Ms. A, but no belongings such as her bag were found.

Earlier, Ms. A went missing after slipping and being swept away by the rapid current of the stream while crossing a stone bridge with a friend at Maseok Ucheon in Hwado-eup, Namyangju City, around 11:10 PM on August 9.

In the early stages of the accident, more than 200 personnel and over 60 pieces of equipment were deployed daily to the site for the search operation. Currently, as the search has prolonged, the number of personnel at the site has decreased to about 20 to 30 per day.

According to the fire authorities, the search was scheduled to end at the end of last month after consultation with the missing student's parents, but the search operation is continuing at the request of the missing girl's parents.

Meanwhile, on the 30th of last month, a severely decomposed body, to the extent that gender and age could not be identified, was found in Paldang Lake in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, raising the possibility that it was one of the missing persons from the heavy rains; however, it was reported that the physical features and clothing were different from those of Ms. A.

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