PM visits mourning altar of underpass flooding victims

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo visits a mourning altar set up at the government building of North Chungcheong Province, in Cheongju, central Korea, Thursday. Yonhap

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo expressed his condolences Thursday for the tragic loss of more than a dozen people killed in the flooding of an underpass in the central city of Cheongju last week.

The underground roadway was flooded Saturday when a nearby river overflowed after an embankment was brought down by rising water levels due to torrential downpours, resulting in the loss of 14 lives.

Han visited a mourning altar set up at the government building of North Chungcheong Province, where he offered his condolences to the bereaved families of the victims.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo answers questions from reporters at a mourning altar set up at the government building of North Chungcheong Province, in Cheongju, central Korea, Thursday. Yonhap

"I feel heavy responsibility for the regrettable deaths," Han wrote in a register book. Han further expressed his commitment to making the country a safer place.

Heavy downpours that battered the nation last week have left thousands of properties damaged across the nation, including swept-away roads and river embankments. As of Thursday morning, 46 people had been confirmed dead, while four others remain missing nationwide. (Yonhap)