At least five people have been killed and dozens injured in a fire following an accident in a highway tunnel in South Korea. A bus collided with a truck in the tunnel in Gwacheon on the outskirts of the capital Seoul on Thursday, a spokesman for the fire service said. After the accident, a fire broke out in the tunnel, which was designed to protect surrounding residential areas from traffic noise.
Images from South Korean media showed large flames and plumes of smoke. Hundreds of firefighters eventually got the fire under control, a spokesman for the fire department said. “We are looking for other victims in the tunnel,” the officer added. 37 people were injured and had to be treated for smoke inhalation and burns.
Security measures have been discussed in South Korea since a mass panic during Halloween celebrations in Seoul left more than 150 people dead. On the evening of October 29, about 100,000 mostly young people populated the narrow streets of the Itaewon entertainment district without police intervention. It later emerged that only 137 police officers were on duty – and that police had received emergency calls hours before the disaster. (AFP/channel)