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Tens of Thousands Stranded at Korean Cheju Airport
Tens of thousands of tourists and students were stranded at an airport on a South Korean island Jan.7 because of heavy snow, the state Yonhap news agency said.
Three international and 59 domestic flights from the airport on Cheju island off the southern coast were canceled after up to 17 inches of snow blanketed South Korea, the report said. About 13,000 people were stranded, many of them high school students who had planned to fly to Seoul to take university entrance exams Jan.8, it said.
Hundreds of domestic flights from Seoul"s Kimpo airport were canceled while some international flights were delayed for hours, early editions of Jan.8 newspapers said.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said the snowfall in Seoul was 6 inches. No one answered the phone at the airports Sunday night. Meanwhile, 17 people were believed stranded in Doota Mountain on the northeastern coast. Rescuers were having difficulty finding them as snow continued to fall.
A fishing boat capsized in high waves near Cheju island, authorities said. Five crew members were rescued by marine police, but two remained missing. Parts of the nation"s major highways and roads were blocked, causing heavy traffic jams. About 27,000 government officials and workers were deployed to clear snow.
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