South Korea Struck by Typhoon Thelma

SEOUL, South Korea--At least 42 people were killed and 66 others were missing yesterday after Typhoon Thelma smashed across the southern coast demolishing settlements with 80 mph winds.

Emergency relief official said they feared many more people were missing and possibly killed after the typhoon ripped into coastal settlements overnight.

"The damage is more than what we thought. We are trying to find out what happened," said an official at the Central Counter Disaster Headquarters in Seoul.

Thousands of military reservists were mobilized along with government workers to aid rescue efforts. Officials said more reservists were on stand by.

Emergency relief officials said at least 6152 people had been left homeless by Typhoon Thelma. People were being sheltered in local schools and government buildings.

Rescue workers were digging through the remains of smashed houses and other buildings in villages and towns hit by the typhoon, the officials said. Many people were believed buried in the debris of smashed buildings.

Seven members of one family were killed when their house was demolished by a mud slide in the southern city of Kwangju, the officials said.

At least 16 people were killed in and around the southern port of Pusan, the country's second largest city. Strong winds triggered high waves that crashed into the port, and more than 50 fishing boats were sunk or damaged.

Seven people were killed in the city, including some who were hit by flying objects propelled by the high winds, city officials said. The winds and waves washed away seafront houses, they said.

Emergency relief officials in Seoul said the southern coastal provinces of North Kyongsan and Kangwon were hardest hit by the typhoon.

Weather officials reduced the typhoon to a tropical depression as it lost speed after moving into the Sea of Japan later yesterday.

Officials said a number of fishing boats caught at sea by the typhoon were sunk and an unknown number of fisherman drowned.

Rescue boats were sent to look for survivors.

The center of the typhoon, the most destructive part, never touched the Korean peninsula, weather officials said. The typhoon was about 120 miles wide when it slammed into the peninsula, they said.

High winds and torrential rains triggered earth slides that sent tons of mud and rock cascading onto villages. Government weather officials said 9.2 inches of rain had fallen during the night.

Four members of a family were killed when their home was buried by a mudslide in the town of Milyang near Pusan.

The high rains caused rivers and streams to burst out of their banks and some people were drowned after being caught in the raging floodwaters, the officials said.