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Several dead in South Korea tunnel fire

A huge fire at an expressway tunnel on the outskirts of Seoul as a result of an accident has killed at least six people, emergency services say.

AFP

Firefighters are doing a search inside the tunnel in case of additional casualties and around 20 people are being treated for smoke inhalation, officials say.

At least six people have been killed after a bus and truck crash caused a huge fire at an expressway tunnel on the outskirts of Seoul, the local fire department told AFP.

Images of the scene in local media showed huge flames and plumes of smoke rising from the tunnel, as hundreds of firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control.

The fire started when a bus collided with a truck at around 0450 GMT in the expressway tunnel in Gwacheon, an official at the Gwacheon fire department told AFP.

The raised tunnel, which is designed to protect surrounding buildings from the noise of the road, was quickly engulfed in flames, images in local media showed.

At least 6 people reported to have died in expressway tunnel fire in Gwacheon, South Korea.

Initial findings showed the fire started after a bus and a truck collided. It quickly spread to the tunnel, causing massive clouds of smoke.pic.twitter.com/Ir1ydXawEz
— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) December 29, 2022

Deadly disasters

Firefighters have brought the blaze under control, the official said.

"We are doing a search inside the tunnel in case of additional casualties," the official added.

Around 20 people are being treated for smoke inhalation, he added.

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min called for "maximum resources deployed" to save lives, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

"I urge the authorities to put out the best efforts to save the lives of those who have not escaped," he said.

The fatal accident comes just months after 150 people, mostly young women, were killed in a Halloween crowd crush in the Itaewon nightlife district.

South Korea's rapid transformation from a war-torn, impoverished backwater to Asia's fourth-largest economy and flourishing democracy is a source of great national pride.

But a series of preventable disasters -including Itaewon, and the Sewol ferry sinking which killed more than 300 people in 2014- has shaken public confidence.