Car crashes into crowd in Seoul, killing at least nine people

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At least nine people were killed and four others were injured when a car crashed into pedestrians in downtown Seoul, the South Korean capital.

The accident occurred around 9:27 p.m. local time at an intersection near Seoul City Hall, a typically busy city street, police said.

According to Yonhap news agency, the vehicle was driven by a man believed to be 68 years old, who drove into pedestrians waiting at a traffic checkpoint.

Police said the man, whose name was not released, was arrested and is being investigated on suspicion of accidental killing.

The driver told investigators that his car accelerated abruptly and unintentionally.

His car will be sent to the country’s forensic agency for examination, police said.

Six of the nine fatalities died at the scene of the accident, three were taken to hospital with cardiac arrest, where they were pronounced dead.

Pictures from the scene of the accident showed a badly damaged black sedan being towed away. The guard rails at the side of the road were flattened to the ground.

Seoul police said the man was driving his car in the wrong direction and collided with two other vehicles before fatally hitting pedestrians.

According to preliminary investigations, the accident was caused by unintentional acceleration and an initial examination revealed that the driver was neither under the influence of alcohol nor any other intoxication.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the Interior Ministry to make “every effort” to treat the victims of the crash.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon called it a “tragic incident” and ordered an investigation.

When Mr. Oh arrived at the scene, he gave instructions to minimize further casualties and prepared measures for the grieving families.

He ordered that “the victims be taken to hospital promptly and the cause of the accident be thoroughly investigated.”

The man was reportedly a bus driver from Ansan, a city south of Seoul, and had about 40 years of driving experience.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 35 percent of all road deaths were pedestrians in 2022. The number of pedestrian deaths was highest in OECD countries, but the report says the trend has been declining in recent years.

The incident comes as another tragedy in South Korea, just a week after a fire killed 23 people and injured many more at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, a major industrial area about 90 minutes southwest of the capital Seoul.