At around 2:30 p.m. on December 12, a fire broke out on a 47-seat express bus carrying 34 students from Y Elementary School in Jeonju on the Honam Expressway in Gaya-gok, Nonsan City. The bus was returning to Jeonju after a field trip in Daejeon, and all passengers were able to evacuate in time, resulting in no casualties.

According to the students on board, a strange smell started to emanate from inside the vehicle around 2 p.m. Some students testified that they detected the odd smell as early as 1:50 p.m. The bus pulled over to the side of the road to wait for a replacement vehicle, but the situation became urgent as the smoke and burnt smell inside the vehicle intensified.

The students and teachers evacuated the vehicle around 2:30 p.m., and within 1-2 minutes, the bus was engulfed in black smoke and completely burned down. Notably, an investigation is needed into why the students were able to escape only just before the bus was completely burned, despite signs of abnormality being detected 30 minutes before the fire broke out.

With the help of Korea Expressway Corporation staff, the students were moved to a safe place and returned home via a replacement vehicle. Some of the students who experienced the accident received medical treatment and are also expected to receive psychological counseling.

The police and fire authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, including the possibility that the fire started in the engine room at the back of the bus. Meanwhile, parents are demanding a thorough investigation to clearly identify the cause of the accident and strengthen the management standards for school buses.

While this accident fortunately ended without any casualties, parents and educators are calling for fundamental measures to prevent recurrence, wary of the possibility of accidents due to poor management.