47 Vehicles Crash on Guri-Pocheon Expressway: One Dead, Three Critically Injured

Police officers and firefighters take part in a rescue operation on the Guri-Pocheon Expressway in Gyeonggi-do where a massive collision occurred on the night of January 15. Courtesy of the Gyeonggi-do Bukbu Fire Headquarters

On the night of January 15, dozens of vehicles collided on the Guri-Pocheon Expressway in Gyeonggi-do, killing one and injuring more than thirty people, including three who were critically injured.

The accident occurred around 9:11 p.m. Sunday night. So far, authorities have counted 47 vehicles entangled in the crash.

A police representative said, “The accident occurred on such a long stretch of the expressway, that it was difficult to identify the total number of vehicles involved in the crash.”

Due to the accident, a woman in her forties fell into cardiac arrest and died after she was transported to a hospital. Three men who were unconscious after receiving serious injuries were also transferred to the hospital. Authorities claim 28 people suffered light injuries.

The fire headquarters issued a level-one emergency response at 9:45 p.m. The headquarters dispatched 65 vehicles and over 157 employees and engaged in rescue operations until 12:44 a.m. January 16.

Authorities turned a bus into a temporary emergency clinic on the road near the accident site to provide first aid and tosort the patients.

Authorities believe black ice, a thin coating of ice found on roads after temperatures drop and freeze the melted snow, led to the massive collision.