Soldiers avert car accident disaster on highway

At the South Yeoju Intersection of the Central Inland Expressway, Gyeonggi Province on Friday morning, a white SUV's engine ignited, filling the area with dark smoke. The situation worsened as the vehicle's oil tank melted, igniting the spilled oil on the ground.

A few minutes later, a bus swiftly changed lanes and halted at the accident site. Six soldiers exited the bus, checked for occupants in the SUV, and began extinguishing the fire with a fire extinguisher. Other soldiers in the group redirected traffic to the first lane to prevent further accidents.

Shortly after, firefighters arrived on the scene following the emergency call, and the soldiers who had acted as first-responders had left. The firefighters successfully extinguished the fire in approximately 30 minutes. The soldiers' heroic actions, which averted a worse accident, came to light only when the footage from the Korea Highway Corporation at the scene was reviewed. The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters is now seeking these commendable soldiers.

"We want to express sincere gratitude to those soldiers who displayed a strong sense of duty and true courage by not passing by the scene and actively working to extinguish the fire," said Chief Cho Seon-ho of the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters.


dalsarang@donga.com