Police and firefighters examine the scene of a 13-vehicle collision on the Sangju-Yeongcheon expressway in North Gyeongsang Province on Monday. (Yonhap)
Police and firefighters examine the scene of a 13-vehicle collision on the Sangju-Yeongcheon expressway in North Gyeongsang Province on Monday. (Yonhap)

A chain-reaction accident involving 13 vehicles, including a tank truck, occurred on an expressway in the southeastern city of Yeongcheon early Monday morning, killing two and injuring four others.

The accident occurred on a bridge near the Shinnyeong interchange on the Sangju-Yeongcheon expressway in North Gyeongsang Province, at 3:12 a.m., when a 26-ton tanker truck loaded with 24,000 liters of bunker C oil rear-ended a 25-ton cargo truck, according to police.

Afterward, a 14-ton truck rear-ended the tanker truck, leading to a chain of collisions among seven other vehicles, including passenger cars and a bus.

Several H beams loaded on one of the trucks fell on the opposite lane, causing a passenger car, another tanker truck and a 13-ton cargo truck to crash as they tried to avoid the fallen objects.

Police said two passenger car drivers and one truck driver were killed, and four others were injured in the accident. They added that there were about 20 passengers on the bus, but none were reportd injured.

Around 3:10 a.m. Monday, a 13-vehicle pileup involving a tanker on the Sangju–Yeongcheon Expressway in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, sparked a fire, killing two people and injuring four. (North Gyeongsang Fire Department)
Around 3:10 a.m. Monday, a 13-vehicle pileup involving a tanker on the Sangju–Yeongcheon Expressway in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, sparked a fire, killing two people and injuring four. (North Gyeongsang Fire Department)
Vehicles are seen lined up on the Sangju–Yeongcheon Expressway on Monday morning after one direction was closed to handle a major accident that occurred around 3 a.m. and triggered a fire. (Yonhap)
Vehicles are seen lined up on the Sangju–Yeongcheon Expressway on Monday morning after one direction was closed to handle a major accident that occurred around 3 a.m. and triggered a fire. (Yonhap)

The accident caused three vehicles to catch fire — a tanker truck, a 14-ton cargo truck and a 2.5-ton cargo truck — but they were completely extinguished in two hours and 30 minutes.

Police said oil from one of the tanker trucks involved in the accident flowed into nearby rice paddies and waterways. (Yonhap)