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Woman rescued after entering drainage structure near coast in Ansan

Published: 03 Feb. 2026, 09:13 Updated: 03 Feb. 2026, 17:18

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A woman in her 20s who went missing after entering a drainage structure near Korea's west coast was rescued about 18 hours after disappearing.

A missing persons report was filed at around 3:18 p.m. Sunday after the woman entered a drainage channel on Bandal Island in Ansan, Gyeonggi, police and fire authorities said Monday.

The woman had come to Ansan to visit relatives and reportedly walked directly into the entrance of a drainage channel adjacent to the sea after turning off her cell phone, before losing her way inside.

Police and rescue teams searched inside the drainage channel using search dogs and drones, but had difficulty locating her because of the complex structure.

At around 9 a.m. Monday, the woman turned her cell phone back on and was able to speak with rescuers. She then signaled her location by sticking her fingers through gaps in a maintenance hole cover and was rescued about 18 hours after going missing.

The woman had no visible external injuries at the time of the rescue but showed signs of exhaustion and received treatment at a hospital.

Police later decided that immediate treatment was necessary due to concerns about a possible recurrence and arranged for emergency admission to a psychiatric hospital.

“The inside of the drainage channel was relatively warm, which likely allowed her to endure the cold weather,” a police official said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]