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🇰🇷 South Korea /Disasters & Emergencies

Porsche catches fire in expressway tunnel, driver dies

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A Porsche car caught fire inside a tunnel on the Gwangju-Daegu Expressway early on the 9th.
  • The driver died in the accident, and the expressway was closed for approximately two hours.
  • Authorities are investigating the cause, with speed suspected as a factor.

A driver died after their Porsche sedan crashed and caught fire inside a tunnel on the Gwangju-Daegu Expressway early on Tuesday morning. The accident led to a temporary closure of the expressway, causing significant traffic disruption.

The incident occurred around 1:18 AM on the 9th, within the Baekjeon 2 Tunnel in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang Province. The Porsche, traveling from Gwangju towards Daegu, reportedly collided with the left wall of the tunnel before flipping over and erupting in flames. Firefighters responded promptly, deploying 17 units to extinguish the blaze by 1:43 AM.

The accident vehicle had only one driver, and it is presumed that they were speeding.

— Police OfficialA police official commented on the preliminary findings of the accident investigation.

Authorities confirmed that only the driver was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Preliminary assessments suggest that excessive speed may have been a contributing factor to the accident. The driver's identity is currently unknown, and the National Forensic Service has been requested to conduct DNA analysis to confirm their identity.

The Gwangju-Daegu Expressway was closed to traffic in the direction from Gwangju to Daegu for about two hours following the incident. Police are currently analyzing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the expressway to determine the precise cause of the accident.

We have requested the National Forensic Service to conduct DNA analysis to identify the deceased driver, and we are analyzing expressway CCTV footage to determine the exact cause of the accident.

— Police OfficialA police official detailed the ongoing investigation into the fatal crash.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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