Two dead, six injured in car crash, building collapse

Two people were killed and six others injured in a car crash and subsequent building collapse in Seoul on Thursday, officials said.

The accident occurred on a road in southwestern Seoul at around 11 a.m. when two trucks collided and one of them ran into a nearby five-story building, according to police and firefighters.

An explosion and fire broke out at the building after gas leaked from a pipe hit by the five-ton freight vehicle, they said.

An adjoining single-story building collapsed apparently due to the blast. Two women were found dead in the rubble of the crumbled building at 12:40 p.m.

"One of the women is assumed to have been hit by the (five-ton) truck while she was passing by, according to CCTV footage," an official from the Guro Fire Station said.

The other woman was likely inside the building at the time of the accident, officials said, adding the identities of the victims have yet to be confirmed.

Six others, including the truck drivers, sustained minor injuries and were sent to a hospital.

The fire was put out in 3 hours and 12 minutes, firefighters said.

The police and the fire department are investigating the cause of the accident and plan to request the National Forensic Service conduct autopsies of the victims. (Yonhap)