A Russian cargo ship hits a road bridge in Busan, South Korea. The Korea coastguard said the 5,998-ton Seagrand hit the Gwangan bridge before turning around. No injuries were reported but the bridge was closed for safety checks, the Korea Herald reported. It said the captain had a blood alcohol content of 0.086% when the legal limit is 0.03%. It is not clear if he was at the helm at the time.



</s>A Russian cargo ship captain may have been slightly drunk when he veered off course and crashed into a busy South Korean bridge this afternoon.

The 6,000 ton Seagrand collided with the side of the Gwangan Bridge in Busan, in the southeast of the country, at around 4.20pm.

The ship then attempted to turn and vacate the area before it was detained by the Korea Coast Guard (KCG).

KCG officials said the captain's blood alcohol level was 0.086 per cent - almost three times the legal limit of 0.03 per cent.

According to local news agency Yonhap the Seagrand also hit a moored cruise ship just 40 minutes before the accident.

Authorities said they spoke to the cargo ship's crew and were still determining whether the captain, whose identity has not been released, was at the helm at the time of the crash.

Drinking alcohol on-board is perfectly legal so as long as the person is not steering, the KCG said.

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.

No injuries were reported, but a section of the bridge was closed off for a safety inspection.

Photographs show some superficial damage to the lower level of the two-tiered structure.</s>SEOUL (DPA) - A Russian cargo ship piloted by an intoxicated captain rammed Gwangan Bridge in the South Korean port city of Busan on Thursday (Feb 28) afternoon.

A video released by the news agency Yonhap shows the upper superstructures of a container ship colliding with the bridge.

There were no injuries in the accident, Yonhap reported, but the ship's captain allegedly tried to flee the scene.

The South Korean Coastguard recorded a blood alcohol value of 0.86 in the captain, according to Yonhap. With a blood alcohol level over 0.3 it is prohibited under South Korean law to pilot a ship.

The ship is said to be a 6-ton freighter, which was on the way to Vladivostok, Russia.

Gwangan Bridge spans a distance of 7.4 kilometres and is located in South Korea's second largest city. At night it is a popular tourist attraction due to its spectacular lighting.</s>SEOUL: A Russian cargo ship veered off course and bumped into a bridge in Busan, South Korea on Thursday afternoon (Feb 28), causing damage to the bridge but no injuries.

The captain of the nearly 6,000-ton Seagrand was allegedly drunk when the incident happened, reported Yonhap news agency, adding that he has been detained.

According to the Korean Coast Guard, the captain had a blood alcohol content of 0.086 per cent, which is almost three times the legal limit of 0.03 per cent.

The vessel had left Busan port for Vladivostok, Russia, when it sailed into the side of the Gwangan Bridge in Busan at around 4.20pm on Thursday. It then turned back to head in the opposite direction, said Yonhap. 



Authorities are trying to determine why the ship was heading towards the bridge when it should have been going in the opposite direction.



The identity of the captain has not been released.

Parts of the lower section of the bi-level bridge has been closed off as a precaution, and will remain closed through Sunday, said Yonhap.</s>A Russian cargo ship crashed into a bi-level bridge on the coast of South Korea because its captain was drunk, authorities said Thursday.

A gaping five-metre wide hole was torn into the lower part of the bi-level bridge, according to Russian news website RBC, but there were no injuries reported.

Sections of the Gwangan Bridge in Busan were closed for precautionary purposes. It’s not illegal to consume alcohol while aboard a ship, but it is illegal to sail a ship while intoxicated.

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The captain ignored warnings from coast guards to change course because “he didn’t understand English well.”

The ship, which authorities say should have been heading in the opposite direction to the bridge, then turned around and sailed off the other way, according to the Korea Coast Guard.

Authorities claimed the ship had already hit a cruise ship 40 minutes before the bridge collision. The ship departed for Vladivostok, Russia on Thursday with 1,415 tons of steel coils.</s>A Russian cargo ship slowly but steadily crashed into a busy road bridge off the coast of Busan in South Korea. Local media reports that the vessel may have had a drunk captain at the helm.

Video footage of the crash shows the surreal moment the massive ship inches its way towards the bridge filled with motorists, who were completely unaware of the collision about to occur.

When the ship finally makes contact, parts of it are crushed under the bridge, which eventually stops the ship from continuing on its dangerous path.

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.

Yonhap News Agency reports that the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) said the captain had a blood alcohol content of 0.086 percent, way over the legal limit of 0.03 percent. It isn’t clear whether the captain was steering the ship at the time of the collision.

Authorities said the ship also hit a cruise ship in the port about 40 minutes before the bridge collision. After the ship made contact with the bridge, it turned back and headed in the opposite direction.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!</s>SEOUL - A Russian cargo ship veered off course and bumped into a bridge off the southeast coast of South Korea on Thursday with a drunk captain on board, authorities said.

The Korea Coast Guard (KCG) said the 5,998-ton Seagrand sailed into the side of the Gwangan Bridge at around 4:20 p.m. before turning back to head in the opposite direction.

The accident caused damage to the lower part of the bi-level bridge, the KCG said. No injuries were reported, but portions of the lower bridge were closed off for precautionary reasons.

The KCG nabbed the vessel and questioned the crew aboard. It said the ship's Russian captain, whose identity is being withheld, had a blood alcohol content of 0.086 per cent. The legal limit is 0.03 per cent.

A KCG official said consuming alcohol aboard a vessel isn't punishable by law as long as the person doesn't steer the ship. The official added it wasn't yet clear if the Russian captain had been at the helm at the time of the accident.

Authorities were also trying to determine why the ship was heading toward the bridge in the first place, when it should have been going in the opposite direction.

The KCG said the Seagrand arrived in Busan around 9 a.m. Wednesday and unloaded 1,495 tons of iron pipes. It was bound for Vladivostok, Russia, on Thursday, carrying 1,415 tons of steel coils.

Authorities said the Seagrand had also hit a cruise ship moored at the same port about 40 minutes before hitting the bridge.</s>A Russian cargo ship sailing under the direction of an inebriated captain smashed into a major highway bridge near the port of Busan, South Korea during afternoon rush hour on Thursday, damaging the vessel and tearing a hole in the bridge's steel structure. The vessel was later detained by the Korea Coast Guard after it fled the scene.

According to Yonhap News, the 370-foot Seagrand had arrived in Busan on Wednesday and set out for its home port of Vladivostok, Russia carrying nearly three million pounds of steel coils when the accident occurred. The map shows it should have sailed north along the coast before making its way across the eastern edge of the Sea of Japan.

Instead, it traveled just a couple miles before inexplicably turning into a small bay and heading straight for the Gwangan Bridge, a double-deck structure that stands as the second longest span in the country. KCG officials tracking regular ship traffic saw the deviation and radioed the ship to turn around, but JoongAng Ilbo reports the captain appeared to neither speak nor understand English well enough to respond.</s>A “DRUNK” Russian captain has smashed a giant cargo ship into a £500billion bridge in South Korea after veering off course.

Shocking footage shows the 6,000-ton Seagrand ship heading directly towards the Gwangan Bridge in South East Korea. It then collides with the platform, with a pylon at the bow of the ship crumbling to the ground. Onlookers filming the altercation can be heard visibly shocked at what they’re witnessing. Coast guard officials claim the captain's blood alcohol level was almost three times over the legal limit sitting at 0.086 per cent, instead of a 0.03 per cent limit.

It is yet to be determined whether the Russian Captain was behind the helm at the time of the incidents, authorities have said, after speaking with the ship’s crew. The cargo ship should have been headed in a completely opposite direction, raising questions as to why it was there in the first place. The ship arrived in Busan around 9am on Wednesday after having a reported 1,495 tons of iron pipes on board. No injuries were reported, but a section of the bridge was closed off for a safety inspection.

The £500billion bridge, also referred to as Diamond Bridge stretches over 7.4 km. It comes after North Korea’s Kim Jong-un failed to reach a deal on denuclearisation with President Trump. Last week saw carnage after two cruise ships smashed into each other in a busy port. This week a couple was filmed frantically after their cruise sailed away without them on board.</s>A Russian cargo ship crashed into a bi-level bridge on the coast of South Korea while its captain was drunk, authorities said Thursday.

No injuries were caused during the bizarre crash, but sections of the Gwangan Bridge in Busan were closed for precautionary purposes.

It’s not illegal to consume alcohol while aboard a ship, but it is illegal to sail a ship while intoxicated.

Although it is unclear if the captain was at the helm of the Seagrand vessel during the time of the crash, the ship was going the opposite direction of its planned course, and the captain had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, according to South Korean news outlet Yonhap.

The Seagrand also reportedly hit a cruise ship moored at a nearby port an hour before the crash.

The Korean coast guard said the nearly 6,000-ton cargo ship caused about a 15-foot hole in the lower portion of the Gwangan Bridge.

The captain apparently ignored radio signals from coast guards to change course, because he does not speak English well.
A Russian cargo ship collides with a motorway bridge in the city of Busan, South Korea. The captain is reported to be drunk.