One dead in Pyeongtaek EV crash after car catches fire

A Kia EV6 vehicle, heading toward a drainage pump station in Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek at around 7:40 p.m. on Monday, caught fire after colliding with the curb, the Pyeongtaek Police Precinct said Tuesday.

Firefighters extinguish the blaze in a Kia EV6 crash in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi on Monday evening. [GYEONGGI-DO FIRE SERVICES]

One person died after an electric vehicle crashed and caught fire in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Monday evening.

A Kia EV6 vehicle, heading toward a drainage pump station in Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek at around 7:40 p.m. on Monday, caught fire after colliding with the curb on its right, the Pyeongtaek Police Precinct said Tuesday.

Authorities discovered a body, assumed to be a man, inside the vehicle.

It took three hours and 50 minutes for fire authorities to extinguish the blaze using a portable water tank.

The tank — surrounded by panels and filled with cooling water — submerges the vehicle in water to the height of the heated battery, making it cool down.

Police will request an autopsy of the body from the National Forensic Service.

“Authorities will [try to] confirm the identity of the dead body and further investigate how the car accident occurred,” a police official said.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]