A Buddhist humanitarian aid group said on Friday that two troop trains packed with soldiers collided head-on in North Korea in April leaving more than 1 000 dead.
The reported accident occurred in Kowon County in the remote and rugged north-eastern province of South Hamkyong on April 23 when a train’s brakes failed on a downhill stretch of track.
It rammed into another train that was climbing the hill on the same track, according to the group, Good Friends.
”The number of dead was very high as the cars of both trains were crowded with soldiers, including those being discharged and new conscripts,” the group said in its weekly newsletter.
South Korea’s government said it had heard nothing about the reported accident and was unable to comment.
The aid group said that North Korea’s government imposed a news blackout on the tragedy but the news, which at first was whispered among relatives of the victims, slowly leaked out of the Communist state.
North Korea tightly controls news about the country from reaching the outside world and also clamps down on the flow of information inside the country.
However, control if its northern border with China has relaxed in recent years due to the rise in two-way trade and more people and information are crossing in both directions.
North Korea’s railway system is known to be in an extremely poor state. Decades-old rolling stock run no faster than 65kph on rusted tracks, with a lack of fuel and electricity forcing many trains to remain idle. – AFP
