30 city buses burned to ground overnight

By Yi Whan-woo

Thirty city buses were destroyed after a fire suspected to be a case of arson broke out at a bus depot in Oebalsan-dong, western Seoul, police said Tuesday.

The blaze started at around at 3:02 a.m. and also partly damaged eight others among a total of 85 mass transit vehicles parked at the scene, according to investigators.

Firefighters put out the fire three hours after it started, but it still resulted in commuter delays this morning.

“We highly suspect the cause of the blaze was arson, because there was nothing at the scene from which the fire could have started,” an officer said. “We’ve obtained footage from surveillance cameras on the site and are reviewing it for evidence.”

Police added they received a report from a witness who heard the sound of an explosion followed by two buses burning out of control.

The blaze spread quickly and burned a part of the building located within the depot that was operated by a private bus firm under a contract with the metropolitan government.

No one was hurt, but the financial damage is estimated to be 1.5 billion won ($1.4 million), according to the fire service. It dispatched 57 fire engines, and 176 firefighters to the scene.

The firms confirmed that the remaining 47 buses are safe to operate.

“Among our 85 buses, 38 of them are damaged, and we’re running the rest of them (to serve the public),” it said.

The city government has assigned four of its bus routes to the company. And the maximum waiting time for each route under the firm’s management doubled from 15 to 30 minutes after the fire, the municipality said.

It added it will allow the firm to use its extra buses while the case is being investigated.