SEOUL – Tragedy struck an outdoor market in Bucheon, a city near Seoul, South Korea, when a truck barreled into a crowd of pedestrians on Thursday morning. The devastating incident resulted in the deaths of two individuals and left 18 others injured, according to local officials.

The incident, occurring just before 11 a.m., saw two victims pronounced dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital. Among the 18 injured, nine suffered serious injuries, although authorities have yet to determine if any of these are life-threatening, as per the Bucheon municipal government.

In the aftermath, police have taken into custody the truck driver, a man in his 60s. Authorities have confirmed he was neither under the influence of alcohol nor drugs at the time of the accident. Son Byeong-sam, a Bucheon police official, stated that the investigation is ongoing to uncover more details.

Witness accounts collected by Park Geum-cheon, an official from Bucheon’s fire department, reveal a harrowing sequence of events. The truck allegedly reversed approximately 28 meters (or 92 feet) before accelerating forward for 150 meters (492 feet), tragically mowing down pedestrians in its path.

The driver has attributed the mishap to a vehicle malfunction, prompting officials to scrutinize security camera footage to verify his claims and piece together the full narrative of what occurred during those fateful moments.

The driver claimed his vehicle had malfunctioned and that officials were reviewing security camera footage, he said.

Photos from the scene showed the truck jammed into a storefront in a jumble of debris, including toppled boxes, clothing and broken signboards. The front left side of the truck was mangled and its windows were shattered. Officials later removed the vehicle from the scene to investigate the crash.

Bucheon will support the restoration of damaged facilities, Mayor Cho Yong-eek said in a statement, adding that the city also will conduct safety inspections and provide psychological support for merchants and others who witnessed the crash.

Cho’s office did not immediately have an estimate of the property damage, including the number of shops that were impacted.