At about 7:30 a.m., during a busy rush hour, a large explosion rumbled beneath the streets, blasting the metal sheets high into the air. Flames shot out from underground, some 150 feet high, throughout a 300-yard area. Cars were transformed into fireballs and one was reported to have been thrown 30 feet into the air. Some pedestrians in the area were enveloped by fire; others further away were blown to the ground. Flaming debris hit people up to half of a mile away. The final death toll was 110, with hundreds injured. Rescue efforts were impeded by broken water mains that flooded the area in the aftermath.
Source/Attribution
“Gas pipe explodes in South Korea,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gas-pipe-explodes-in-south-korea (accessed Jun 30, 2010).
Added Wed, Jun 30 2010 at 6:53PM UTC by