Osong Underpass Structure Worker: "Water Filled Up in an Instant"

"If Flooding Was Expected and Controlled, Accident Would Not Have Occurred"
Continuous Water Inflow... Possibility of Prolonged Search Operation

Mr. A narrowly escaped after abandoning his car when water suddenly flooded the Gungpyeong No. 2 Underpass in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, around 8:40 a.m. on the 15th. He said, "The water rose in an instant, so I hurriedly got out of the car and clung to the railing. Fortunately, I survived, but I wonder what happened to the others..." as he recounted the harrowing situation.

The Gungpyeong No. 2 Underpass, which is 430 meters long, is usually a distance that can be passed in 30 seconds, but when the Miho River embankment broke, water rapidly flooded in within seconds, making it impossible for vehicles to move. As a result of this accident, 19 vehicles including buses were submerged, and one person died.

Mr. A is one of the nine people who were barely rescued by the fire authorities after climbing onto the railing of the underpass structure. He is currently being treated after being transferred to a hospital.

On the 15th, after heavy rain, a report was received that a vehicle was submerged in the Gungpyeong 2nd Underpass in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk. Fire authorities and police are conducting search operations.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

He said, "There were many buses and passenger cars around, and water came in from both ends of the underpass, quickly rising in level. If the entrance to the underpass had been blocked in advance when flooding was expected, this would not have happened. I don't understand why it wasn't controlled."

Including the nine bus passengers (including the driver) and drivers of 18 other vehicles, it appears that at least 27 people were trapped in the underpass at the time.

Excluding the 10 people who have died or been rescued so far, at least 17 people are still unable to get out of the underpass. Their whereabouts and condition have not yet been confirmed.

Nearly 10 hours have passed since the first report was received, but due to the continuous heavy rain, the fire authorities' search operations are progressing slowly. All they can do is deploy life-saving boats to conduct search operations around the area. A bystander watching this said, "Why aren't they doing anything?" expressing frustration.

The fire authorities said they have deployed special vehicles to pump out water at a rate of 30,000 tons per minute but added, "Water continues to flow into the accident site through the collapsed embankment from the nearby river, so the water level is hardly decreasing."

It is also difficult for the military and fire authorities who came to assist to deploy divers. Since muddy water has filled the underpass, making it impossible to secure even the minimum visibility needed for the search, they cannot recklessly send in divers. Because of this, there is a possibility that the search operation will be prolonged.

A fire department official said, "How long the search will take depends on the drainage situation, so it is difficult to make any predictions at this time."

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