South Korea Reports Six Dead as Record Snowfall Hinders Travel

South Korea has felt the heavy impact of record snowfall as the country reports multiple deaths amid travel cancellations. Seoul recorded its third-heaviest snowfall since officials started keeping records in 1907, with more than 16 inches of snow in parts of the city, forcing the cancellation of over 140 flights and 76 ferry routes. Authorities also closed down nearly 1,300 schools, and many homes have been without power as a result of the unusually strong storm, according to British newspaper, The Independent.

 The Seoul metropolitan government has mobilized over 11,000 personnel to try and clear the roads and reduce traffic strain. More distressing, though, were reports of six deaths attributed to weather-related issues. So far, four people have died from structural accidents and two people have died from traffic accidents. Some experts have attributed the heavy storm to warmer-than-usual temperatures in the seas to the west of the peninsula mixing with extreme cold air currents. 

Newsweek reached out by email on Thursday afternoon to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the South Korean Foreign Ministry for comment. A bus skidded on an icy road, killing one person, injuring 11 others and causing a 53-vehicle pile-up on a highway, according to Reuters. 

Another death resulted from a highway traffic accident, although it remains unclear if it was from the same accident or another one near the capital. Authorities warned residents in some provinces, such as Chungcheong and Jeolla, to prepare for more snow on Friday. Some could even expect to see snowfall continue into Saturday morning. 

The structural collapses happened at a golf range where snow piled up on a net until it snapped, killing one person and injuring two others. Another person died when a car park's protective tent collapsed under the weight of snow, according to German outlet DW. Another man died when a tree collapsed under the weight of snow while he tried to clear it away, according to Korean outlet Yonhap News Agency. 

Reports did not indicate how the fourth structural-related death occurred. Heavy snowfall can cause unbelievable collapses and road accidents, such as 2010's infamous roof collapse at Paris' international Charles de Gaulle airport, which luckily injured no one as authorities moved travelers out of the affected area before anything happened. 

However, a previous collapse at the airport in 2004 killed four people, according to The Guardian. A particularly horrific crash during an intense winter storm happed in Texas in 2021 when six people were killed and 36 others were injured after 130 vehicles slammed into each other due to icy road conditions.