WATCH: Huge Russian cargo ship CRASHES into busy road bridge in South Korea
A huge Russian cargo ship has crashed into a busy road bridge in South Korea on Thursday, with local media reporting the captain might have been drunk at the time of driving it.
South Korea: Moment Russian cargo ship CRASHES into bridge
Onlookers filmed the shocking moment a Russian cargo ship crashed into Gwangan Bridge in South Korea. Local media has reported the captain was found by the Korea Coast Guard to have a blood alcohol content of 0.086 percent, way over the legal limit of 0.03 percent. The video, posted on social media, shows the cargo ship slowly sailing into the bridge with many cars passing overhead, oblivious of what was about to hit them.
There were no injuries reported in the collision, but both the 5,998-ton Seagrand ship and the lower level of the Gwangan Bridge were damaged by the impact.
The bridge was left with a 1.5 x 2-meter hole, and other steel structures were scratched, News Joins reports. Portions of the lower bridge were closed as a precaution.
Authorities claimed the ship had already hit a cruise ship 40 minutes before the bridge collision.
After it hit the bridge, the ship was reversed and headed in the opposite direction.
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The captain ignored warnings from coast guards to change course because “he didn’t understand English well,” the RBC news website reported.
Officials are also looking into why the vessel was in the waters near the £500 billion Gwangan Bridge - South Korea's second-longest - when it should have been heading in the opposite direction.
According to the KCG, the Seagrand arrived in Busan around 9am on Wednesday morning to unload 1,495 tons of iron pipes.
It departed for Vladivostok, Russia on Thursday with 1,415 tons of steel coils.