News & Politics - Up to 3000 people feared dead in North Korea train collision

**Avatar** · 04-22-2004, 01:58 PM

From the Associated Press, via The Guardian:

Quote:

Many feared dead in North Korea 'blast'

Associated Press
Thursday April 22, 2004

As many as 3,000 people were killed or injured today when two trains carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas collided and exploded in a North Korean train station, South Korean media have reported.
The explosion was said to have occurred at about 1pm local time (0500 BST) at a station in the town of Ryongchon, around 30 miles south of the Chinese border, in northern North Korea.

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, was said to have passed through the station nine hours earlier on a special train on his way back to Pyongyang after a rare visit to China.

North Korea's state-run news agency confirmed that Mr Kim had travelled to China on Monday and stayed there until Wednesday, but carried no comments on the reported explosion.

South Korean officials said they were aware of the reports, but could not confirm them.

There was no immediate evidence that the reported explosion was anything more than a horrific accident.

"The area around Ryongchon station has turned into ruins, as if it were bombarded," South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted unnamed sources in the Chinese border city of Dandong as saying.

Some of the injured were reportedly evacuated to hospitals in Dandong, a bustling industrial city on the Yalu river.

However, a railway worker on the Chinese side of the Dandong border crossing told the news agency Reuters he had not heard of a blast and had seen no signs of any emergency effort.

Yonhap said the North Korean authorities had declared a state of emergency in the area. The South Korean agency claimed the north appeared to have cut international telephone lines to the area to prevent information about the explosion getting out.

The South Korean TV station YTN said the casualties included Chinese people living in the North Korean border region, and that others, in Dandong, were desperate to learn about their relatives.

"Debris from the explosion soared high into the sky and drifted to Sinuju," a North Korean town on the border with China, it added.

Chinese and North Korean traders frequently cross the border.

Mr Kim's visit to China was understood to be to discuss the north's nuclear weapons plans and tentative economic reforms. When he goes abroad, he does not travel by air.

Residents in Pyongyang told Reuters over the telephone there was nothing unusual in the capital, and that North Korean television was broadcasting military songs and music.

The accident resembled a disaster in Iran on February 18, in which runaway train cars carrying fuel and industrial chemicals derailed in the town of Neyshabur.

The resulting explosions destroyed five villages and killed at least 200 people.

Just plain awful, and it doesn't make it better when the DPRK is closing its borders, disallowing any chance of outside help.

LaraCroft01 · 04-22-2004, 10:46 PM

OMG that is sooo tragic! [img]smilies/cry.gif[/img] That is so sad. Wow. My thoughts are with the families who lost a loved one right now.

Katis · 04-23-2004, 12:33 AM

This is absolutely horrible... [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

Why are they closing telephone lines though? I mean I'm sure other countries would be willing to come in and help.

StellaSlight · 04-23-2004, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Avatar:
<STRONG>From the Associated Press, via The Guardian:

Just plain awful, and it doesn't make it better when the DPRK is closing its borders, disallowing any chance of outside help.</STRONG>

Exactly my thought. But it's not like the leader loves his people enough to be asking for international help anyway. I hope the agencies that are already based in North Korea won't be overwhelmed if they are allowed to be helping the local government through the tragedy.

3,000 reported dead... that is plain horrible. The worst train disaster until now had occured in India in 1981 when a cyclone blew a train. There were 'only' 800 people killed.

**Avatar** · 04-23-2004, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Katis:
<STRONG>Why are they closing telephone lines though? I mean I'm sure other countries would be willing to come in and help.</STRONG>

Because if his people could get the news from outside-sources not controlled by Dear Leader, they'll start asking questions, and that's the last think he wants, as the only way Dear Leader is to survive is it the only news to reach the people is of the happy-go-lucky kind. And like Anne said, it's not like he really values his people beforehand anyway, so why should it change now?

Katis · 04-23-2004, 12:37 PM

*shakes head* ridiculous.

StellaSlight · 04-23-2004, 11:14 PM

It looks like the North Korean representative in the UN has asked the international help through the organization. But people around the area have reported no activity around the tragedy perimeter from an international agency yet.

NK officials admit 'serious' accident. Apparently an electric contact caused the explosion of two railway wagons carrying dynamites. Article here.

To think that people in North Korea have no idea of what's going on in their own country...

idork · 04-24-2004, 09:14 AM

What a selfish man.

yoshhh · 04-29-2004, 09:51 AM

I read somewhere that S. Korea sent some aide, but their offer was rejected.

migamoo · 04-29-2004, 10:03 AM

I was watching CNN last night and N.Korea said that they didn't want help, but they did want televisions. How that is supposed to help is beyond me.


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