By Na Jeong-ju
About 10 landmines were swept away by landslides that hit mountain-side villages in southern Seoul Wednesday, the military said Thursday.
Warnings have been issued to residents and hikers near the landslide-hit area on Mt. Umyeon in southern Seoul, officials said, adding that search operations were underway.
“We couldn’t find about 10 land mines buried near the village where landslides occurred Wednesday,” Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said. “We are now searching for the mines and bracing for possible contingencies.”
Mines were placed after the 1950-53 Korean War near an air-defense artillery unit there, but most were removed between 1999 and 2006. However, about 10 mines had remained buried, according to the ministry.
The spokesman said the military had already cleared the off-limit area affected by the landslide.
“Chances are low that mines will be spotted,” he said. “But we’re preparing for any situation that may arise in the area. We have not yet received any report that mines have been spotted.”
The Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered subordinate units to check for any dislodged mines in regions damaged by landslides and heavy rains. The areas include southern Seoul as well as towns in Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces populated by border military units.
Also in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, an ammo depot inside an army unit collapsed in a landslide Wednesday, and some mines and hand grenades were lost. A military spokesman said later that all the explosives from the ammo depot have been recovered.
Meanwhile, the death toll from landslides and floods caused by the heaviest rainfall in a century in the country’s central regions rose to 59 with 12 others reported missing as of 6 p.m., according to the National Emergency Management Agency.
The number of those killed in landslides in southern Seoul increased to 18. Thirteen people died in Chuncheon, about 100 kilometers northeast of Seoul, six in Gwangju, five in Pocheon, and four each in Paju and Dongducheon, all in Gyeonggi Province.
In Gwangju and Dongducheon, flood waters inundated main roads, residential areas and basement facilities, causing severe financial damage and leaving thousands of vehicles submerged on flooded roads.
In Paju, four people were swept away by waters while trying to get out of their submerged homes.
The government has evacuated more than 4,900 people in the capital area from their homes since Tuesday afternoon amid forecasts that torrential rain will likely to continue until Friday.
The power supply was cut for more than one hour to 126,000 homes nationwide, while 803 households in Gyeonggi Province still have no electricity, according to the agency.