[Anchor]
Yesterday (July 17), a four-vehicle pileup occurred inside the Daegwallyeong Tunnel on the Yeongdong Expressway heading toward Gangneung, followed by a vehicle fire. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the road was completely closed in both directions for a time, leading to severe traffic congestion.
Reporter Dong Eunyeong has the story.
[Reporter]
Inside the Daegwallyeong Tunnel No. 4 on the Yeongdong Expressway heading toward Gangneung.
Vehicles come to a stop with their hazard lights on, but following cars fail to slow down in time and collide one after another.
People from the crashed vehicles emerge and attempt to signal other cars to turn back, but less than three minutes later, bright red flames erupt from one of the involved vehicles.
In an instant, the inside of the tunnel is filled with smoke to the point where the entrance is no longer visible, and black smoke pours out of the tunnel continuously.
The fire report from the tunnel was received at approximately 11:50 a.m.
[Witness to the accident: Smoke was billowing from the engine room. As I passed by, I could really feel the heat. (The owner of the crashed car) was shouting at people to move the cars at the front first...]
Police and fire authorities determined that a van rear-ended a passenger car ahead of it, and a following SUV and another passenger car subsequently struck the stationary van, after which the fire broke out in the SUV.
All 16 people, including the drivers, who were in the vehicles managed to escape the tunnel immediately after the accident, and no injuries were reported.
Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response 30 minutes after receiving the report and upgraded it to a Level 2 response 10 minutes later. It is reported that because the tunnel was filled with smoke, making it difficult for fire trucks to enter, firefighters had to walk inside to carry out extinguishing operations.
The fire was put out after an hour and a half, but the full closure of both directions toward Gangneung and Incheon for the firefighting efforts caused severe traffic congestion on the road.
[Choi Gwang-seok / Wonju, Gangwon Province: The sign board said there was smoke in the tunnel and an accident had occurred. I am waiting. I am not sure if I should take a detour or keep going.]
The police stated that no signs of alcohol or drug use were found in the drivers involved in the accident, and it appears the crash was caused by inattentiveness 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, Gangwon State Fire Headquarters)
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