A boat sits on a road after floodwaters inundated a coastal area in Sanyang-eup, Tongyeong, as heavy rain battered South Gyeongsang Province on Monday. [Reader-submitted photo]
A boat sits on a road after floodwaters inundated a coastal area in Sanyang-eup, Tongyeong, as heavy rain battered South Gyeongsang Province on Monday. [Reader-submitted photo]

A woman in her 60s was buried by a landslide triggered by torrential rain in southern South Gyeongsang Province on Monday and was rescued by coast guard and fire department personnel.

According to the Tongyeong Maritime Police Station, a report came in at around 5:03 a.m. Monday that a landslide on Gonrido in Sanyang-eup, Tongyeong, had buried a woman in her 60s, identified only by her surname initial A.

Coast guard officers who responded to a call from a nearby resident found A buried from the waist down under debris in the bathroom of her home. After about 90 minutes of rescue work, they pulled her free.

A suffered fractures in both legs and showed signs of hypothermia, but her condition was not life-threatening, authorities said.

A Tongyeong coast guard official urged residents to stay away from landslide-prone areas and steep slopes, and to immediately report any warning signs to the relevant authorities before evacuating to safety.


betterj@heraldcorp.com