SEOUL-- A KTX bullet train en route to Busan from Seoul derailed in central South Korea on Wednesday, injuring seven passengers, the operator said.
Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) and firefighters said the derailment occurred at 12:58 p.m., when the KTX-Sancheon train was just passing a tunnel in Yeongdong of North Chungcheong Province, 214 kilometers south of Seoul.
One passenger car from the train went off the tracks near the Yeongdong Tunnel after being apparently hit by a steel structure that fell from the tunnel, they said, adding that some repair work was under way inside the tunnel at that time.
Seven passengers suffered minor injuries from being struck by shards of glass from broken windows or objects that fell from the shelves, they said. Only one of them was transported to hospital.
The train was carrying 303 passengers and crew members.
"The train was not completely derailed and one passenger car was slightly off the track due to the collision," an official of the Chungbuk Fire Service Headquarters said.
Authorities said the exact cause of the derailment is under investigation.
Due to the accident, train operations on the Seoul-Busan line were delayed by 2 hours and 40 minutes, with nine KTX train schedules being cancelled.
The accident also caused delays of SRT bullet train services that run between Suseo, southern Seoul, and Busan and the southwestern cities of Gwangju and Mokpo.
KORAIL said it was speeding up recovery work, aiming to normalize service before Thursday.
Source: Yonhap News Agency