At least two people were killed and more than 60 injured on Wednesday after a pileup involving more than 100 vehicles on a bridge near Incheon International Airport. At least eight are seriously injured, according to the police.

The pileup occurred at 9:34 a.m. on the Seoul-bound lanes of the Yeongjong Bridge that connects Incheon’s Yeongjong Island ― where the nation’s main airport is located ― to the mainland.

Police said the pileup was triggered after an airport limousine bus rear-ended the passenger-vehicle in front of it. Drivers’ visibility was severely limited due to heavy fog, they added.

Survivors said they could only see about 15 to 20 meters in front of them because of fog during the time of the accident. The pileup caused a tailback extending for more than a kilometer, hampering emergency services’ access to the site and crippling traffic.

According to the emergency services in Incheon, at least two people were killed and more than 60 people suffered injuries. Among the injured, at least eight are said to be in critical condition.

The two victims were identified as 46-year-old Lim and 51-year-old Kim, respectively. While Kim’s body was sent to Myongji Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Lim’s was sent to Na-Eun Hospital in Incheon.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 19 foreign nationals were confirmed to have been injured. Among them, seven were Chinese, five Thai, two Japanese and two Vietnamese. The victims also included a Swiss, Bangladeshi and Russian, according to firefighters.

One of the 19 injured foreign nationals is in critical condition, they added.

The injured were sent to three different hospitals near the bridge for treatment.

Shortly after the accident, police and firefighters shut down the entire Seoul-bound lanes of the bridge.

“We are looking into nearby CCTV footage to determine the exact cause of the accident,” a police officer said.

The Yeongjong Bridge, established in 2000, is part of the Incheon International Airport Expressway. The 4,420-metres bridge is known to often experience dense sea fog. 

By Choi He-suk and Claire Lee
(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)(dyc@heraldcorp.com)