Man in his 60s swept away and killed in valley stream after hike in North Gyeongsang Province

A man in his 60s died after being swept away by a current while wading in a valley stream in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province.

According to the North Gyeongsang Province fire department, a report came in at around 2:38 p.m. Sunday that a man in his 60s, identified only as A, had slipped and been carried away by the current in the Seonyudong valley in Wanjang-ri, Gaen-eup, Mungyeong. He had been wading in the stream after finishing a hike with fellow members of a mountaineering club.

Rescue teams were deployed and a search operation launched. Using a drift-prevention net downstream and a drone, crews found A about 300 meters downstream from where he had fallen in — roughly an hour and a half after the accident.

A was rushed to a nearby hospital but died.

Little rain was falling at the scene at the time, but heavy rainfall that had continued through Sunday had raised the water level and strengthened the current.

Police are questioning the mountaineering club members who were hiking with A to determine the circumstances of the accident.