At least five dead and dozens more injured after crash sparks massive fire in Seoul

At least five people have been killed and dozens injured after a crash involving a bus and a truck caused a huge fire at an expressway tunnel on the outskirts of South Korea’s capital of Seoul.

Devastating images of the scene show huge flames and plumes of smoke rising, as hundreds of firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control.

The fire started when a bus collided with a truck at around 1:50 pm (0450 GMT) in the expressway tunnel in Gwacheon, an official at the Gwacheon fire department said.

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

Pictured: Smoke rises from the burning tunnel in Gwacheon, South Korea, December 29, 2022

The fire was sparked by a collision in the tunnel involving a bus and a truck 

It took around 100 firefighters a number of hours to bring the blaze under control 

Burnt vehicles are seen inside a tunnel in Gwacheon, South Korea, December 29, 2022

The devastating aftermath shows what remains of vehicles, with around 44 destroyed

Some of the victims also suffered burns while others were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation

Firefighters have since brought the blaze under control.

‘We are doing a search inside the tunnel in case of additional casualties,’ an official said.

After initially saying that six people had been killed, authorities revised down the death toll to five, with 37 people injured.

Some of the injured have suffered from burns.

‘Three have suffered burns on facial areas while the rest are being treated for smoke inhalation,’ the official 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

Firefighters were scrambled to the scene and searched the tunnel for casualties 

Pictured: Firefighters work to extinguish a fire on a highway in Gwacheon, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022

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 heavy traffic made it difficult for vehicles to escape the affected area as the fire spread and a blast was heard, a witness told television broadcaster YTN.

Altogether 44 vehicles were destroyed in the fire, a fire official told Reuters. 

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 a 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.