[Anchor]
A series of accidents occurred on the Yeongdong Expressway early this morning (October 24). A married couple died after three vehicles collided sequentially, and a police officer clearing an accident scene was severely struck by a cargo truck.
Reporter Jeon Yeonnam has the details.
[Reporter]
Debris litters the road, and a vehicle is smashed beyond recognition.
At around 2:20 a.m. today, three vehicles collided one after another near the Saemal Junction on the Yeongdong Expressway in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon Province.
Police understand that a minivan first rear-ended a passenger car ahead, and an SUV subsequently rear-ended the minivan. In the process, a married couple in their 70s and 60s riding in the minivan died, and three others, including a woman in her 70s in the minivan, were injured.
Police believe the couple had gotten out of their vehicle to check the situation following the initial crash when they were struck by the SUV, and authorities are currently investigating the exact cause of the accident.
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At around 4:00 a.m. today, a police officer in his 50s was injured while handling an accident scene near the Yeoju Service Area on the Yeongdong Expressway in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.
The officer was reportedly hit by a 6.5-ton cargo truck while controlling traffic and clearing the scene after a cargo truck and a passenger car collided and caught fire, sustaining severe injuries to his ankles and other parts of his body.
Kim Jong-cheol, Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency, instructed authorities to "spare no support for the injured officer's treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery to daily life."
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At around 11:50 a.m. today, a fire broke out at a junkyard in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.
The fire authorities issued a Level 1 response, mobilizing two firefighting helicopters about 30 minutes after receiving the report, and brought the flames under control after roughly five hours.
Workers and others inside the junkyard evacuated on their own in the early stages of the fire, and it was confirmed that there were no casualties.
At one point, the Pocheon city government issued an emergency text message advising vehicles to detour due to heavy black smoke generated by the fire.
(Video Editing: Shin Se-eun, Footage Provided by: Pocheon Fire Station, Song Young-hoon)
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