SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Two people were killed and 16 others injured following a pile-up on Sunday (July 9) on the north-bound highway linking Seoul to the port city of Busan, South Korean police said.

Six passenger cars and a bus were involved in the crash on the Gyeongbu Highway near an interchange in Seoul's Yangjae area.

Police said the passenger cars collided on the rain-slicked highway before the bus hit one of the cars carrying two persons, resulting in their deaths.

The bus reportedly tried but failed to slow down on the slippery road and eventually crashed into the cars that were ahead of it.

The police are looking into what exactly caused the accident, believing it could possibly be due to careless driving.

After the pile-up, three north-bound lanes and one south-bound lane of the highway were closed. This caused heavy traffic congestion in the area.