At least five killed in South Korea road tunnel fire

The blaze broke out after a freight truck collided with a bus on a freeway close to Seoul, injuring 37.

Firefighters battle a blaze in a freeway tunnel in Gwacheon, South Korea, on December 29, 2022 [Yonhap/Reuters]

Not less than 5 individuals have been killed and 37 injured in a fireplace attributable to a freight truck colliding with a bus in a freeway tunnel close to the South Korean capital, Seoul, officers stated.

It was not instantly identified what precipitated the collision and the hearth on Thursday and what cargo the truck was carrying.

The blaze erupted when the automobiles collided at about 1:50pm (04:50 GMT) in an expressway tunnel in Gwacheon, a fireplace division official informed the AFP information company.

Hearth officers stated the collision occurred inside a noise-barrier tunnel on the freeway. The raised tunnel is designed to guard surrounding buildings from the noise of the street.

Three of the injured had been in critical situation, whereas 34 suffered gentle accidents, in line with the Nationwide Hearth Company.

Monumental plumes of fireside and thick smoke had been seen coming from the tunnel in photographs posted on native and social media.

A whole lot of firefighters managed to carry the blaze below management.

Smoke rises from a burning tunnel in Gwacheon, South Korea, on December 29, 2022 [Yonhap/Reuters]

“We're doing a search contained in the tunnel in case of further casualties,” a fireplace official stated.

About 20 individuals are being handled for smoke inhalation, he added.

Inside minister Lee Sang-min referred to as for “most assets deployed” to avoid wasting lives, the Yonhap information company reported.

“I urge the authorities to place out the most effective efforts to avoid wasting the lives of those that haven't escaped,” he stated.

In October, not less than 153 individuals had been killed in a Halloween crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife district.

A collection of preventable disasters – together with Itaewon and the Sewol ferry sinking which killed greater than 300 individuals in 2014 – has shaken public confidence. Many South Koreans have questioned whether or not security requirements had been sidelined and rules ignored within the  authorities’s rush for growth.