By Alex Jensen
SEOUL (AA) – Four passengers on a tourist bus were killed in South Korea on Sunday, with eight others reported by police to be seriously injured.
A group of 45 passengers from a local mountaineering club had been on board to enjoy the country’s renowned autumn foliage.
Their trip turned tragic when the driver lost control on an expressway in the Daejeon area south of Seoul at around 9.30 a.m. (0030GMT), apparently due to another vehicle cutting in front.
“The bus zigzagged and then fell sideways,” one of the passengers was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. “There was mayhem inside the bus as chairs were broken.”
A police official confirmed that an investigation is underway, but there was no indication that the bus had been speeding based on initial eyewitness accounts.
Less than a month earlier, a similar accident struck a separate South Korean tour group on their return from China — as 10 people were killed due to a crash on an expressway close to Ulsan.
The driver of that bus later came under scrutiny for escaping from the burning wreckage ahead of his passengers, prompting memories of the Sewol ferry captain’s actions when more than 300 people died off the country’s southwest coast in 2014.
It also emerged that the driver involved in last month’s accident had previously been charged for a dozen traffic violations including drunk driving.
