At 12:23 PM on the 17th, a tanker truck overturned and caught fire in the Namwon Samae 2 Tunnel on the Suncheon-Wanju Expressway northbound lane, causing dozens of vehicles to collide one after another. CCTV footage shows 6 to 7 vehicles, including a trailer that slipped on the icy road, tangled in the first and second lanes inside the tunnel at the time of the accident. After a minor collision, the tanker truck carrying nitric acid overturned and quickly crashed into these vehicles, escalating the situation into a major accident. Chain collisions caused by the icy road continued afterward, and especially in the video, another tanker truck and trailers driving in the tunnel's second lane are seen colliding one after another, resulting in a large fire. So far, 4 people have died and 43 have sustained serious to moderate injuries and are receiving treatment at hospitals. Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation CCTV capture and Yonhap News.
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] An additional fatality has been discovered at the scene of a multi-vehicle collision in the Samae 2 Tunnel on the Suncheon-Wanju Expressway.
The Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters announced on the 18th at around 1:10 a.m. that they found one more body while managing the accident site. As a result, the death toll from this accident has risen to four. Additionally, as of 6 a.m. that day, the number of injured was counted at 43.
The identity of the additional deceased has not been confirmed.
The fire authorities, having completed cleanup operations by 3:18 a.m., plan to continue recovery and on-site investigation of seven vehicles that have not yet been towed starting from 10 a.m. that day.
On the 17th, debris from the accident vehicles is piled up inside the tunnel on the Suncheon-Wanju Expressway where a multi-vehicle collision occurred. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the previous day (the 17th) at around 12:23 p.m., a 24-ton tanker truck overturned in the Namwon Samae 2 Tunnel on the Suncheon-Wanju Expressway northbound lane. This accident caused dozens of vehicles to collide consecutively, resulting in a fire. At the time of the accident, nearly 6 cm of snow had accumulated on the expressway.
According to released closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, at the time of the accident, 6 to 7 vehicles had slipped on the icy road inside the tunnel and were entangled in lanes 1 and 2. The following tanker truck carrying 8,000 liters of nitric acid overturned and crashed into these vehicles, causing a major accident. The amount of nitric acid leakage has not yet been confirmed.
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