3 killed after van hits visitors on South Korean island in Jeju
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SEOUL – A car accident near the ferry terminal on the small island of Udo, just off Jeju Island, on Nov 24 left at least three dead and 11 others injured, the local authorities said.
According to the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters, the crash occurred at 2.47pm local time, just outside Udo’s Cheonjin Port. A van driven by a man in his 60s struck the visitors after having disembarked from a ferry, before coming to a stop by crashing into a road sign.
All 14 victims were reported to be tourists. Among them, three – two men in their 70s and 80s, who were pedestrians, and a woman in her 60s, in the van’s passenger seat – were found in cardiac arrest and airlifted to a hospital by rescue helicopter, but did not survive.
Eight others were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment, the officials said.
Witnesses told local media that the van accelerated after disembarking from the ferry coming from Jeju Island, running into the eight pedestrians and stopping only after hitting a road sign. Six people in the van were also injured.
The initial emergency call relayed that “a sudden acceleration accident has occurred”, according to the rescue authorities.
Udo is a small islet located roughly 3km off Jeju Island’s eastern coast, with a total population of some 1,680 as of March 2022.
Police are investigating the accident. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
