Fire Erupts in Highway Tunnel: Desperate Pleas to Evacuate

[Anchor]

Today, July 17, the first day of the Constitution Day holiday, a fire broke out following a traffic accident in the Daegwallyeong Tunnel on the Yeongdong Expressway. A four-vehicle pileup led to a fire, causing both directions toward Incheon and Gangneung to be temporarily closed for cleanup. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the resulting severe congestion caused significant inconvenience for vacationers heading to the east coast.

We begin with our first report from Dong Eunyeong.

[Reporter]

Inside the Daegwallyeong Tunnel No. 4 toward Gangneung, earlier today.

Vehicles come to a stop with their hazard lights on, but following cars fail to slow down in time, leading to a series of collisions.

A person from one of the involved vehicles gets out and signals to other drivers to turn back. Less than three minutes later, bright red flames erupt from one of the crashed vehicles.

In an instant, the tunnel is filled with smoke so thick that the entrance is no longer visible, and black smoke billows out of the tunnel continuously.

The fire report in the tunnel was received at approximately 11:50 a.m. today.

[Witness: The engine room was emitting smoke. As I passed by, I could feel the heat. The owner of the crashed car was shouting at the cars in the front to move out of the way.]

Police and fire authorities determined that a van rear-ended a passenger car ahead of it, and a following SUV and another passenger car then struck the stationary van, after which the fire started in the SUV.

All 16 people, including the drivers of the involved vehicles, escaped the tunnel immediately after the accident, resulting in no injuries.

Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response 30 minutes after the report, and upgraded it to Level 2 ten minutes later. It is reported that fire crews had to enter on foot to extinguish the fire because the tunnel was so filled with smoke that fire trucks could not enter.

The fire was extinguished in an hour and a half, but the full closure of both directions toward Gangneung and Incheon caused severe traffic congestion on the road.

[Choi Gwang-seok/Wonju, Gangwon Province: The electronic sign said there was smoke in the tunnel and an accident. I am waiting, wondering if I should detour or keep going.]

The police stated that no signs of alcohol or drug use were found in the drivers involved in the accident, adding that the crash appears to have been caused by a failure to pay attention to the road ahead due to traffic congestion.

(Video reporting: Won Jong-chan, G1 Broadcasting | Video editing: Kim Yun-seong | Footage courtesy of Korea Expressway Corporation and Gangwon State Fire Headquarters)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.