Thousands of people feared dead in train crash!!!

[MIKE BURN]

Quote:

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N Korea train blast 'kills many'



Up to 3,000 people have been killed or injured in a huge explosion after two fuel trains collided in North Korea, reports say.

The blast happened at Ryongchon station, 50km north of Pyongyang, South Korea's YTN television said.



The incident reportedly happened nine hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il passed through the station on his way home from a visit to Beijing.



Mr Kim had been in China to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme.



South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the colliding trains were carrying gasoline and gas, and that they crashed at around 1300 local time (0400 GMT).



'Bombardment'



The report was based on information from unnamed Chinese sources near the border with North Korea, said news agencies.



It was not possible to obtain independent confirmation of the number of casualties, as North Korea is notoriously secretive and rarely reports its own accidents.



"The station was destroyed as if hit by a bombardment and debris flew high into the sky," Yonhap quoted its sources as saying.



Yonhap said the North Korean authorities had declared a state of emergency in the area and cut off all international telephone lines, apparently to stop news of the accident spreading.



The agency quoted a South Korean defence ministry official as confirming that the explosion had taken place.



But a Chinese railway worker at the Dandong border crossing, contacted by Reuters news agency, said he had not heard of a blast and had seen no signs of any emergency effort under way.

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[Seismic Anamoly]

Quote:

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But a Chinese railway worker at the Dandong border crossing, contacted by Reuters news agency, said he had not heard of a blast and had seen no signs of any emergency effort under way.

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They let off the ending part that said "after he had been told his tongue would be cut out if he did."



Truly another terrible tragedy of innocent lives lost.

[MIKE BURN]

Well, obviously some blurry pictures are available...





"Debris from the explosion soared high into

the sky," Yonhap news agency reported.







"Witnesses say the explosion was the result of a collision between the two

trains. Hours earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il passed through

the station."

[Seismic Anamoly]

Man, that is terrible; burning to death is something I would REALLY NOT want to do.



I for one Thank God the North Korean Premier was not killed in this accident, if that's what it was, because of the wild accusations that would be flying right now if he had been...they will probably still fly; his death would have upped the stakes a couple of notches, however.

[HKRockChick]

its so sad when things like this happen.

[MIKE BURN]

Oh well, meanwhile it turned out that "only" around 50 people died, still over 1,000 injured.



It's sad enough.

[MIKE BURN]

But.....

Quote:

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Initial reports out of North Korea show that 1,850 homes and 12 public buildings were completely destroyed by Thursday's blast in the town of Ryongchon, near the Chinese border.



Meanwhile, more than 6,300 homes were damaged, Sparrow added.



More than 24 hours after the explosion, there has still been no official acknowledgement from reclusive and secretive North Korea.



North Korean officials are investigating what triggered the blast.



Officials told Sparrow two rail cars loaded with explosives caused the disaster. The explosives were most likely those of the kind used in mining.

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I don't know... 6,300 homes.... WHAT A BLAST!!!

That's rather like a atomic bomb....

[Seismic Anamoly]

Quote:

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I don't know... 6,300 homes.... WHAT A BLAST!!!

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Something just about like this happened in 1947 in Texas, USA...really, really bad...



"Red, we're at war. The Russians have dropped a damn A-bomb on us,"



So the initial report is probably more accurate...unfortunately.

Edited by: Seismic Anamoly  at: 4/23/04 5:33 pm