[News Today] Vehicle fire in city tunnel

[LEAD]
A car went up in flames inside a tunnel in downtown Busan during yesterday's morning rush hour. No one was hurt, but thick smoke quickly filled the tunnel, bringing traffic to a standstill. With visibility low and panic setting in, drivers left their cars behind and escaped on foot.

[REPORT]
A car driving through a tunnel suddenly starts smoking from the hood and crashes into the vehicle ahead.

Then flames start to rise. The cars behind quickly change lanes to exit the tunnel.

The tunnel is quickly filled with black smoke. Drivers leave their cars and evacuate on foot.

Lee Soo-hyuk / Witness
The drivers were told to evacuate one by one. We got out of our cars to escape.

The smoke was coming towards us.

The vehicle fire occurred at around 8 a.m. Monday in Hwangnyeong Tunnel connecting downtown Busan.

It occurred about two-thirds from the tunnel entrance.

Because the front of the tunnel was blocked by the smoke, the drivers had to walk back about 1.2km on foot to evacuate.

The fire was put out in 20 minutes with no injuries, but the tunnel was shut down in both directions and was left in chaos with abandoned cars.

Driver /
We're stuck here. It's an emergency for this area and for me personally.

Under the current law, when there is a fire in a tunnel, people can evacuate to the opposite tunnel through evacuation passageways located at 250m intervals.

But there are only two such passageways in Hwangnyeong Tunnel, which was built in 1995, before the law was enacted. It also has no emergency parking areas.

Police are investigating the exact cause of the fire, based on the driver's testimony that it started in the engine and that the brakes failed.

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