Over 30 killed in heavy rain

Ongoing mission: Rescuers conducting a search operation along a road submerged by floodwaters leading to an underground tunnel in Cheongju. — AP

CHEONGJU (South Korea): The bodies of eight people trapped in a tunnel submerged by heavy rain in central South Korea were retrieved, authorities and local media said, taking the death toll from days of torrential downpours that have pounded the country to 35.

Seo Jeong-il, head of the west Cheongju fire station, said some 15 vehicles, including a bus, were estimated to have been submerged in the underpass in the city shortly after a levee of a nearby river was destroyed by the downpours on Saturday.