Rescuers retrieve eight bodies from flooded South Korea underpass

Rescue workers take part in a search and rescue operation at an underpass that has been submerged by an flooded river caused by torrential rain in Cheongju, South Korea, July 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji

SEOUL/CHEONGJU, South Korea (Reuters) -The bodies of eight people trapped in a tunnel flooded by heavy rain in central South Korea were retrieved on Sunday, authorities said, with the death toll from days of torrential downpours that have pounded the country rising to 37.

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