Med student goes missing during trip in heavy rain that left at least 6 dead
![Firefighters remove a fallen tree on a road in Seosam-ri in Andong, North Gyeongsang, after heavy rain battered the region. [NORTH CHUNGCHEONG FIRE SERVICE HEADQUARTER]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/07/12/5d9569bd-c5c7-453f-8445-1b089aa952d9.jpg)
Firefighters remove a fallen tree on a road in Seosam-ri in Andong, North Gyeongsang, after heavy rain battered the region. [NORTH CHUNGCHEONG FIRE SERVICE HEADQUARTER]
One college student was reported missing in North Jeolla after heavy rain pounded the southern region Wednesday, leaving at least six dead.
Police said they received a missing persons report around 11 a.m. Wednesday that said, "a friend went outside early Wednesday morning but has since been out of touch."
The 22-year-old student from a local medical school was in Iksan, North Jeolla for a retreat with college club members. He was supposedly drinking with colleagues until the early morning at a pension and is believed to have left around 4 a.m. Wednesday, according to the person who filed the report.
During the incident, the area experienced heavy downpours of 60 to 80 millimeters per hour. Roads were inundated, and the drainage system was overwhelmed.
Some 20 other students who attended the retreat were reportedly asleep when the 22-year-old left the pension.
On Wednesday morning, record heavy rain battered the southern regions, with parts of North Jeolla experiencing severe downpours. Gunsan at one point recorded 131.7 millimeters of rain per hour.
The heavy rain caused widespread flooding and landslides, destroying houses and damaging roads.
Landslides in South Chungcheong killed two people and a man in his 50s died after an elevator flooded in a studio apartment in Nonsan.
Two men drowned in Gwangju and Daegu. In North Chungcheong, a man in his 70s died after his car plunged into a swollen stream around 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Rescue efforts are also underway for a 71-year-old man who went missing Wednesday morning after the shipping container he lived in was damaged by heavy rain in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong. Police found the container and his car, but the man was still missing as of 10 a.m. Thursday.
A woman in her 40s has been missing since Tuesday in North Gyeongsang.
Police and fire authorities initially mobilized 25 personnel to search for the missing student near drainage systems and roads but could not find him.
As of 9 a.m., about 100 personnel, along with drones and rescue dogs, have been deployed in the search.
"The report seems to have been filed late as other students were drinking until late," a police official said, noting the difficulties in locating the student due to the heavy rain at the time he left.
There are reportedly only a few CCTV cameras near the pension, adding to the difficulty of the search.
BY CHAE HYE-SEON, WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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