People walk on a damaged road near a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, on August 9, 2022. Photo: VCG

The Chinese Embassy in South Korea immediately contacted the victims' relatives and provided assistance after two Chinese nationals were killed due to the rainstorm in Seoul, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. 

At least 11 people, including two Chinese nationals, were killed and six people were missing in Seoul after torrential rain knocked out power, caused landslides and left roads and subways submerged, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday. 

One of the two Chinese victims was killed in a landslide in the city of Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province at around 4:23 am Tuesday and the other died of electrocution while working outdoors in the rainstorm in the city of Shiheung in Gyeonggi, according to the Chinese Embassy in South Korea. 

During a press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin shared more information in the aftermath of the incidents, saying that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent condolences to South Korea during his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Tuesday over the casualties caused by the rainstorm in Seoul, which the South Korean Foreign Minister appreciated. 

According to Wang Wenbin, the Chinese Embassy in South Korea immediately verified the situation with related departments of the local governments after they learned about the incident, tried to get more information about the cause of the accident, contacted the relatives of the victims and provided them with assistance. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Consular Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in South Korea both issued warnings to Chinese nationals, institutions and companies in South Korea to strengthen security awareness and prevent the risks brought by the rainstorm. 

More details revealed by the South Korean Yonhap Television News (YTN) said that one of the deceased Chinese national, the 43-year-old Chinese male worker from an automobile supply factory, was killed when his factory dormitory was buried in a landslide caused by the rainstorm while his roommate fortunately evacuated without injury. 

The other Chinese victim, a male worker in his 50s, suffered from electrocution while using a grinder to cut steel bars at a construction site around noon on Monday. He died despite first-aid rescue from the local firefighters who administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and rushed him to hospital. 

As of 6 am on Wednesday, 1,253 people from 724 households have been evacuated and relocated. Local public facilities, including railways and dams, were flooded or damaged, and 28 landslides occurred. 

Besides, power has been restored in 37 of 41 places across the country that had experienced blackout due to the disaster. Among the 2,800 damaged facilities, 94.2 percent have been completed of the post-disaster emergency handling. 

Global Times