Four Survivors Are Reported Found in Seoul
Rescuers found four more survivors under the rubble of a shopping mall nearly 11 1/2 days after the building caved in on more than 1,000 people, a news report said today.
Yonhap Television News reported that rescue workers using sound detectors found the survivors in a pocket in the basement level at 1:50 p.m. today local time.
The death toll stood at 199 early today, with more than 220 others unaccounted for from the Sampoong Department Store disaster.
After heavy downpours forced a temporary delay in rescue efforts Monday, U.S. military experts searched with sound detectors in what had been a five-story wing of the shopping complex.
The last survivor found was Choi Myong Suk, 21, on Sunday. Rescue workers were encouraged because he was found where it appeared there was no chance of life.
Shoddy construction and disregard of safety standards were blamed for the cave-in June 29.
On Monday, a former ward chief was arrested on charges he took $170,000 in bribes in exchange for overlooking changes in design and construction at the mall.
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