By Kwon Mee-yoo
Two buses were involved in a head on collision in downtown Seoul, Friday morning, leaving one dead and 28 others injured.
At 6:50 a.m., a No. 9000 bus travelling between Seoul and Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, was hit by a tour bus at an intersection in Euljiro2-ga, causing a heavy traffic jam during morning rush hour.
The tour bus driver, identified as Choi, 61, was immediately sent to an emergency room, but died at the hospital. Twenty-eight passengers from either bus were injured and hospitalized.
Some 20 passengers on the tour bus were Buddhists on their way to a temple in Gangwon Province on a pilgrimage.
Police suspect the tour bus crossed the centerline and collided into the other bus.
“We assume that the tour bus crossed the centerline and caused the accident. We are investigating the details by querying several eyewitnesses,” a police officer said.
The median lanes exclusively for use by public transportation buses were introduced in July 2004.
It greatly reduced the traffic congestion for buses but the separate lane and signal system also threaten to cause accidents.