The Korea Fire Agency announced on the 11th that a man whose identity was unconfirmed and found on the banks of the Bukhan River in Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong County, on the 9th has been identified as the last missing person due to the heavy rainfall in Gapyeong.
Accordingly, the Korea Fire Agency officially concluded the search operations that had continued for 23 days since July 20.
Earlier in July, the area around Gapyeong County experienced heavy rain, with up to 76mm of rain falling per hour, resulting in massive damage accompanied by large-scale landslides.
The damage from the heavy rain in Gapyeong County has resulted in 8 fatalities (7 in Gapyeong, 1 in Pocheon), 5 injuries, and 6,532 property damage cases (approximately 182.9 billion won). The number of evacuees rose to 137 people from 88 households.
The Korea Fire Agency issued a 'national firefighting mobilization order' immediately after the damage occurred. Subsequently, it responded with 650 firefighting personnel and 388 firefighting vehicles from 5 provinces, including Seoul, Chungcheong, Gangwon, Sejong, and Gyeongsangbuk-do.
A total of 11,689 personnel were deployed in the subsequent search for missing persons, including 4,321 police officers, 3,720 soldiers, and 372 heavy equipment from Gapyeong County Office.
The Korea Fire Agency continues the search operations in the area of Sindeung-myeon, Sancheong County, to find the last missing person presumed to have been swept away by the swift current. They are conducting detailed searches more than 5 to 10 times at each location. However, it is reported that they are experiencing difficulties due to external environmental factors, such as the discharge from the Namgang Dam.
Park Geun-oh, director of the 119 Emergency Response Headquarters of the Korea Fire Agency, said, "I am relieved that we can return the last missing person in Gapyeong to their family," adding, "We will do our best to search for the last missing person in Sancheong as well."