20-ton waste truck catches fire in Inje-Yangyang Tunnel... Fire fully extinguished in 46 minutes, no casualties

【Financial News, Yangyang = Reporter Kim Gi-seop】A 20-ton truck carrying waste caught fire inside the Inje-Yangyang Tunnel on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway, the longest road tunnel in South Korea. Traffic toward Seoul was temporarily halted completely, but no one was injured.
According to Gangwon Fire Headquarters on the 22nd, a report was received at around 3:13 p.m. that a 20-ton waste truck had caught fire while traveling at the 133.4-kilometer point on the Seoul-bound side of the Inje-Yangyang Tunnel on the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway in Jindong-ri, Girin-myeon, Inje County. The fire was fully extinguished at around 3:59 p.m., 46 minutes after the report.
The tunnel maintenance company responsible for managing its facilities was first to respond to the fire. The company began fighting the blaze with an indoor fire hydrant at around 3:35 p.m., and the tunnel rescue unit, which arrived a minute later, began full-scale suppression efforts. Fire authorities brought the main flames under control at around 3:42 p.m. and had been searching the tunnel for people since 3:40 p.m.
The truck driver was confirmed to be in good health at around 3:48 p.m. After the fire was fully extinguished, fire authorities searched the tunnel again twice, at 4:01 p.m. and 4:06 p.m., but found no further casualties. A total of 47 firefighting personnel and 15 pieces of equipment were deployed at the scene.
The complete closure of Seoul-bound traffic for a time, due to firefighting efforts and smoke remaining in the tunnel, caused severe congestion in the area. Traffic was later reopened in one lane, and the Korea Expressway Corporation urged drivers in an emergency text alert to check real-time traffic information and take a detour via national roads.
The Inje-Yangyang Tunnel, which is about 11 kilometers long, is South Korea’s longest road tunnel. It opened in 2017 alongside the opening of the Donghongcheon–Yangyang section of the Seoul-Yangyang Expressway. Fire authorities and police are investigating the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage.

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