SEOUL — More than 80 people, including children, were injured in South Korea on Friday after three school buses were involved in a multi-vehicle crash on a highway east of Seoul, fire authorities said, according to Reuters.

The buses had been ferrying 75 middle-school students and their teachers on a trip when the crash took place in the county of Hongcheon in Gangwon province, an official at the Gangwon State Fire Headquarters said by telephone.

Two students were among three people seriously injured in the incident, said the official.

Scores of children were injured Friday in a seven-vehicle “chain-reaction” pileup on a South Korean highway, Yonhap News reported, leaving at least three people in serious condition.

The early afternoon accident on National Road No. 44 in Hongcheon, about 100 kilometers, or about 60 miles, east of Seoul, included three buses packed with middle school students and teachers on a field trip.

Police were investigating the cause, Yonhap said. About 30 firefighters took part in the rescue operation.

In another incident in Chungju, South Korea, a tour bus fell sideways in the North Chungcheong Province, killing one Israeli and injuring 34 people on board, 32 of them Israelis, police said Thursday.

Eleven people who sustained serious injuries were taken to a nearby hospital. Among them, one Israeli, believed to be in his 60s, died at the hospital, police said.

The accident occurred around 6:05 p.m. in Suanbo-myeon, located southeast of the city.

The bus had departed from the southeastern city of Gyeongju, a popular tourist destination for its rich history and culture, and was on its way to Suanbo, where the tourists were supposed to stay for the night.

Police said they were investigating the accident based on the testimony about a faulty gear by the bus driver.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it will give necessary support for the Israeli victims upon request from the Israeli Embassy in Seoul. — Agencies