SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea grappled with heavy snowfall for a second day on Thursday, with dozens of flights canceled, ferry services suspended and at least four people reported dead in the bitter winter, although conditions appeared to be easing.
The snowfall was the third-heaviest in Seoul, the capital, since records began in 1907, the Yonhap news agency said, citing data from the city.
More than 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow piled up in parts of Seoul by 8 a.m., forcing the cancellation of more than 140 flights, even as weather officials raised a heavy snow warning in the city center at 10 a.m. Thursday.
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One person died and two were injured at a golf course after a snow-filled net collapsed on Wednesday, while another was killed in a similar collapse of a protective tent at a car park, media reports said.
Road accidents on highways east of the capital have killed at least two others, reports have shown. Police said 11 people were injured Wednesday night in a 53-vehicle crash on a highway in the central city of Wonju in Gangwon Province.
Seoul’s main airport, Incheon, was the worst affected, with passengers facing delays of two hours on average, while 14% of flights were delayed and 15% were canceled on Thursday, flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed.
Officials said at least 142 flights were grounded, and 99 ferry operations were halted on 75 routes on Thursday, authorities said, while media reported that trains were also delayed.
Schools in Gyeonggi Province, which is linked to Seoul, have received permission to close on Thursday if necessary, provincial authorities said.
The unusually heavy November snow was caused by warmer-than-usual seawater temperatures in the western Korean peninsula that meet with cold air.
North Korea also received more than 10 cm (4 inches) of snow in some areas between Tuesday and Wednesday, state broadcaster Korean Central Television said.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Ed Davies and Kate Mayberry)