Police have closed off a section of  National Route 47 due to a fatal fire that broke out in one of its noise-barrier tunnels in Gwacheon, south of Seoul on Thursday.

The one-kilometer section of the national highway was blocked in both directions on Thursday afternoon, as plumes of smoke wafted and molten debris from the tunnel ceiling spilled onto the road.

About 50 civil servants from Gwacheon City using clearing vehicles are removing the fallen debris. 

At least five people are dead and some 30 others wounded in the fire. 

According to disaster officials on Thursday, first reports of the blaze came in at 1:49 p.m. from the tunnel on the Second Gyeongin Expressway connecting the western port city of Incheon to Seongnam City.