2 killed, 4 injured in expressway chain collisions of 13 vehicles

Police and firefighters examine the scene of a 13-vehicle chain collision on the Sangju-Yeongcheon expressway, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday. Yonhap

A chain-reaction accident involving 13 vehicles, including a tank truck, occurred on an expressway in the southeastern city of Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, early Monday morning, killing two and injuring four others.

The chain rear-end collisions occurred on a bridge near the Shinnyeong interchange on the Sangju-Yeongcheon expressway, North Gyeongsang Province, at 3:12 a.m., when the 26-ton tank truck loaded with 24,000 liters of bunker C oil rear-ended a 25-ton cargo truck, according to police.

Afterward, a 14-ton truck rear-ended the tank truck, leading to a chain reaction of collisions among seven other vehicles, including passenger cars and a bus.

Also, several H beams loaded on one of the trucks fell on the opposite lane, causing additional collisions of a passenger car, another tank truck and a 13-ton cargo truck, as they tried to avoid the fallen objects.

Police said two passenger car drivers and one truck driver were killed, and four others were injured in the accident. They added some 20 passengers on the bus were not injured.

The accident resulted in fires in three vehicles — a tank truck, a 14-ton cargo truck and a 2.5-ton cargo truck — but they were completely extinguished in two hours and 30 minutes.

Police said oil from one of the tank trucks involved in the accident flowed into nearby rice paddies and waterways.