SEOUL: At least 10 people were killed and seven others seriously injured after their tour bus crashed and caught fire on a highway near South Korea’s southeastern city of Ulsan, police said Friday.
Although the precise cause of the accident is still under investigation, the driver of the bus was taken into custody for questioning about the vehicle’s maintenance record.
The bus was carrying 20 people late Thursday night when one of the front tires exploded, causing it to crash into a concrete guardrail and catch fire, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency cited an eyewitness as saying.
“A few people escaped from the bus which then went up in flames after some loud explosions,” the unnamed witness who was driving behind the bus said.
Half the passengers were trapped inside by a door blocked by the concrete guardrail.
Most passengers were retirees returning from the airport after a trip to China.
