Nine dead as car strikes pedestrians in Seoul: Investigation underway

Dramatic scenes unfolded on Monday evening in front of the city hall in Seoul. A car struck pedestrians at a crossing after colliding with two other vehicles. Six people died at the scene, and three more succumbed to their injuries in hospital, according to "Reuters".

According to the police, the death toll from this accident may still rise, as some of the injured are in critical condition.

It was determined that a 68-year-old man was driving the car. He was travelling against traffic.

Even though people collapsed (after being hit by the car), the person in the passenger seat was only concerned about the driver and mentioned that there were clothes in the trunk (to use for applying pressure to the wounds). If only they had applied pressure quickly to those hit by the car, at least one person could have been saved. That one person probably died, recounted Park Sung-il, who witnessed the accident, in an interview with Reuters.

At the scene, emergency services set up barriers to separate pedestrians and cars from the accident site. People began bringing flowers in memory of the accident victims.

Cho Hyun-ho runs a shop near the accident site, also by the city hall. He learned about the whole incident from his daughter, who called him.

(My daughter) called me because I run a store in front of the city hall. So I asked her what the accident was, and I heard it was a big accident, I mean, the car crash happened. This is how I found out. My heart at that time is still... breaking (filled with grief), he confessed.

According to the local police, the causes of this tragic accident are still being investigated.

The 68-year-old detained by the police claimed that his car "suddenly accelerated". In South Korea, the maximum speed in urban areas is 50 km/h, while in densely built-up areas, it is 30 km/h.