Drivers face drink-drive claim after horrific S.Korea school bus crash
Agence France Presse

Seoul, July 15: Police investigating a South Korean high-school bus crash which Left 18 people dead and dozens injured were examining claims Saturday the drivers were drunk when the pile-up occurred. Students told police they had seen several bottles of Korean liquor on the bus drivers' table during a lunch break a few hours before Friday's tragedy. Thirteen students and five civilians were killed in the accident, which happened after a pick-up truck crashed into the central reservation of the Seoul-Pusan expressway. One of the school buses following the truck crashed into the vehicle, and two more buses ploughed into the snarl-up, near Kimchon City, 230 kilometres (143 miles) South of Seoul. Within minutes two of the buses had exploded into a deadly fireball, with witnesses reporting trapped students frantically trying to climb from windows to escape the inferno. A fourth bus toppled 15 metres down a motorway embankment. Police said most of the dead had been overcome by toxic fumes as the fire swept throughthe vehicles. A further 97 people were injured, some with severe burns, and police said the death toll could rise. Forensic experts said DNA testing would be necessary to identify several of the victims, many of whom had been burnt beyond recognition. Police said Saturday a total of 10 vehicles had been involved in the crash. Of the 10 drivers, seven were being questioned, two were dead and the other could not be found. One of the dead drivers was a school bus driver. The other was a motorist caught in the crash. Police said one of the surviving bus drivers would be charged with failing to observe safety procedures, and blamed careless driving for the accident. "When a truck stopped after colliding with the median, sedans and buses bumped it. One of the buses carrying students crashed 15 meters down a hillside road while trying to avoid the collision," a police officer said. He said students reported seeing several bottles of the strong Korean liquor soju on the drivers tables during a lunch stop before theaccident, which happened at around 2.30PM (0530 GMT). A student involved in the accident was quoted as saying in the Kyung-Hyang Daily that the drivers had been drinking at lunch. He said just before the accident the bus had been driven erratically. "The bus I was in kept changing lanes frequently. I also noticed it was drifting across the road into other lanes," said the 16-year-old student identitifed only as Yang. "When we stopped for lunch there were several bottles of soju on the drivers table," he added. Blood samples from all seven drivers questioned have been taken for analysis. President Kim Dae-Jung ordered a full inquiry into the accident, a spokesman said Saturday. The school students had been returning to Pusan from a three-day excursion. rob/nj

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