A four-vehicle pile-up in the Daegwanryeong 4 Tunnel on Friday sparked a fire that filled the passage with black smoke [1, 2].
The incident occurred around noon [1] on the Yeongdong Expressway in Gangneung, Gangwon Province [1, 2]. The resulting closure of the tunnel and highway created significant traffic delays for travelers in the region.
Emergency responders evacuated 16 vehicle occupants from the scene [1]. Officials said that no injuries were reported following the evacuation [1].
Police believe the crash was caused by a combination of heavy traffic and a sudden reduction in speed. A spokesperson for the Gangwon Provincial Police Highway Patrol said the lead vehicle stopped, which led to rear-end collisions and the subsequent fire [1, 3].
Witnesses described a scene of chaos as thick smoke billowed from the tunnel. Reporter Song Se-hyuk said black smoke poured out of the tunnel, while about 100 vehicles queued at the entrance [1].
The closure of the Daegwanryeong 4 Tunnel forced a complete halt of traffic on that section of the expressway [2]. Firefighters and police worked to clear the wreckage and extinguish the blaze to restore the flow of vehicles.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the exact sequence of the collisions to determine if any other factors contributed to the pile-up [1, 3].
“Sixteen vehicle occupants were evacuated, and there were no casualties.”
Tunnel fires present extreme risks due to confined ventilation and limited egress points, making the successful evacuation of all 16 occupants a critical outcome. This incident highlights the volatility of high-traffic corridors in Gangwon Province, where sudden speed changes in enclosed infrastructure can rapidly escalate into multi-vehicle disasters.
