Four dead as South Korea battles second day of heavy snowfall

• Seoul sees more than 40cm of snow in various areas by 8am.
• Winter snowfall is the heaviest since 1907, local media reports.
• Passengers face flight cancellations, suspension of ferry services.

SEOUL: South Korea faced heavy snowfall for a second day on Thursday, with dozens of flights canceled, ferry services suspended and at least four people reported dead in a blinding winter, although conditions showed signs of easing.

The winter snowfall was the third heaviest in Seoul, the capital, since 1907. Yonhap news agency citing figures from the city.

More than 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow had piled up in parts of Seoul by 8 a.m., forcing the cancellation of more than 140 flights, although forecasters lifted warnings of heavy snow in the capital’s metropolitan area by 10 a.m. Thursday. .

One person died and two were injured at a golf course after a snow-covered net collapsed late on Wednesday, while another was killed in a similar collapse of a protective tent in a car park, media reports said.

Meanwhile, reports indicated that road accidents on highways east of the capital killed at least two more. Police said 11 people were injured Wednesday afternoon in a 53-vehicle pileup on a highway in the central city of Wonju in Gangwon Province.

Seoul’s main airport, Incheon, was hardest hit, with passengers facing delays of two hours on average, while 14% of flights were delayed and 15% canceled on Thursday, according to plane-tracking website Flightradar24.

Authorities said some 142 flights were canceled and 99 ferries were suspended on 76 routes by Thursday, while media reported further delays to the train schedule.

Schools in Gyeonggi Province, which borders Seoul, were given permission to close on Thursday if necessary, provincial authorities said.

November’s unusually heavy snow has been attributed to warmer-than-usual seawater temperatures west of the Korean peninsula encountering cold air currents.

Neighboring North Korea, according to the state broadcaster Korean Central Televisionmore than 10 cm (4 inches) of snow has also fallen in some areas between Tuesday and Wednesday.