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23/04/2004
At least 150 killed in North Korea rail blast
At least 150 people were killed and around 1,000 injured in yesterday's railway disaster in North Korea, according to Reuters.
The cause of the explosion, which ripped through Ryongchon railway station in the north of the country, is thought to have been accidental. The Geneva-based news service reported that two carriages, laden with flammable material, exploded while being connected to an engine coupling. The carriages became entangled in overhead electrical cables which sparked off an explosion.
The rail station at Ryongchon – an industrial town 30 miles from the Chinese border with a population of around 130,000 people – is located inside a built up residential area. The blast destroyed around 1,850 nearby houses, resulting in large numbers of casualties.
The International Red Cross has said that as many as 6,350 homes may have been partially destroyed, according to the BBC.
The disaster occurred at 1pm – only nine hours after Kim Jong Il, the North Korean head of state, passed through on his return from talks in China. Mr Jong Il had been discussing his country's nuclear weapons programme with the Chinese.
Details of the explosion are still emerging. However, North Korean television channels have yet to report the disaster.
(gmcg)
The cause of the explosion, which ripped through Ryongchon railway station in the north of the country, is thought to have been accidental. The Geneva-based news service reported that two carriages, laden with flammable material, exploded while being connected to an engine coupling. The carriages became entangled in overhead electrical cables which sparked off an explosion.
The rail station at Ryongchon – an industrial town 30 miles from the Chinese border with a population of around 130,000 people – is located inside a built up residential area. The blast destroyed around 1,850 nearby houses, resulting in large numbers of casualties.
The International Red Cross has said that as many as 6,350 homes may have been partially destroyed, according to the BBC.
The disaster occurred at 1pm – only nine hours after Kim Jong Il, the North Korean head of state, passed through on his return from talks in China. Mr Jong Il had been discussing his country's nuclear weapons programme with the Chinese.
Details of the explosion are still emerging. However, North Korean television channels have yet to report the disaster.
(gmcg)
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