An man in his 70s who was swept away after losing footing in a stream in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang, where the river swelled due to heavy rain, was found dead eight days after he went missing.
According to fire authorities on the 16th, at about 11:08 a.m. that day, a fire official found a body believed to be the missing person A, 76, near Ilwon Bridge in Naejul-ri, Andeok-myeon, Yeongju, North Gyeongsang.
The place where the body was found is about 12 kilometers downstream along the waterway from Namwon Stream, where the accident first occurred, toward Seocheon.
Police plan to conduct a detailed examination of the recovered body to confirm the final identity and investigate the exact cause of death.
Earlier, A went missing at about 10:01 a.m. on the 9th, when a heavy rain advisory was in effect, after losing footing while walking along the bank of Namwon Stream in Seongnae-ri, Punggi-eup, Yeongju, with a welfare facility life-support worker and being swept away by the rapidly rising river.
From the day the accident was reported, personnel from various agencies, including fire rescue workers, volunteer firefighters, police, Yeongju City Hall and public health center officials, have combed the area.
On the eighth day of the search, starting early at 7 a.m., authorities concentrated 183 personnel and 58 pieces of equipment, including a fire helicopter, unmanned multirotor (drone), search dogs, rescue boats and personal watercraft, to thoroughly search the waterside and stream surroundings, and found the missing person.
As many as 440 personnel took part in the rescue and search operations in a single day, and the cumulative number mobilized over eight days reached 2,620.