TYPHOON TRAGEDY
Seven drown trying to rescue their cars in underground parking lot as Typhoon Hinnamnor smashes into South Korea
AT least seven people have died while trying to rescue their cars in an underground parking lot as Typhoon Hinnamnor battered South Korea's southern coast.
The catastrophic storm saw nine people trapped in the garage of an apartment complex in the port city of Pohang as they tried to move their cars during the heavy downpours.
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Authorities said rescue workers recovered the bodies of seven people who had suffered from cardiac arrest.
Two survivors were pulled up from the submerged parking lot after they were found clinging to ceiling pipes for over 12 hours.
Fire official Park Chi-min said the survivors -a man in his 30s and a woman in her 50s- are now in stable condition.
He added that over 170 members of local fire stations, the military and the coast guard joined forces in the rescue efforts, wading through meters of muddy water to find survivors.
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Search and rescue operations continued today and authorities said two people were still missing.
Officials later said the death toll had risen to ten after the powerful typhoon ripped through the country flooding streets and buildings.
The deadly storm forced more than 4,700 people to flee their homes for safety, and it destroyed around 12,000 homes and buildings.
Nearly 90,000 households lost power nationwide as the storm hit, but supply had been restored to most of them by Wednesday morning, authorities said.
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Before the typhoon made landfall, South Korean authorities closed more than 600 schools nationwide as a precaution and local airlines cancelled some 250 domestic flights.
President Yoon Suk-yeol offered condolences to the bereaved families and promised support for all rescue operations and typhoon victims.
Yoon called for designating Pohang as a special disaster zone eligible for tax breaks and government subsidies, and travelled to the area later on Wednesday
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