Hero of Osong; man saves 3 in underpass flooding disaster

Damaged vehicles are pulled out of a flooded underground tunnel in the town of Osong, North Chungcheong Province, central South Korea, on Monday. (Yonhap)

According to a report by CJB on Tuesday, a 44-year-old cargo truck driver named Yoo Byung-jo rescued three people while seeking refuge on the roof of his truck near an underpass that flooded in Osong-eup, North Chungcheong Province, on Saturday.

On the day of the flooding accident, Yoo explained that he noticed the bus in front had stalled when the water started rising in the tunnel. He drove his truck into the bus in an attempt to push the bus along, but the attempt failed and his truck lost power.

As the water continued to rise, Yoo broke the window and climbed onto the roof of his cargo truck. At that moment, he saw a woman in her 20s being swept out from the bus and desperately holding onto the truck's side mirror. He reached out and pulled her up onto the truck's roof. He also spotted two men floating near his vehicle and rescued them as well. That day, a total of nine people were saved from the Osong underpass, and Yoo saved three of them.

According to the female survivor that Yoo saved, she had no more energy to hold Yoo’s hand and told him to let go. However, Yoo tried his best to save her until she reached a safe place. The woman's father expressed his gratitude to Yoo for not giving up despite the extenuating circumstances.

By Cho Min-jeong(blacknib@heraldcorp.com)