Seoul, Apr 24: The international community reached out to isolated North Korea with offers of help and messages of condolence after an horrific train explosion killed hundreds of people and injured thousands. The UN is sending an assessment team today, made up of officials from the UN education, food, health and humanitarian agencies, as well as the Red Cross, non-governmental organizations and the diplomatic community.
Britain's foreign office, citing information given to its ambassador in Pyongyang, yesterday said several hundred people were killed and thousands injured in a massive explosion at the Ryongchon train station on Thursday.
The United Nations though, citing a North Korean government office, said the explosion had injured over 1,000 people and 50 bodies had been recovered. "These are initial reports and are subject to change," it said, adding that "more than 1,800 dwellings had been completely destroyed."
Red Cross officials visited the scene of the crash, the Ryongchon city station near the Chinese border, after North Korea's government asked for help, even though it had yet to formally admit to the accident.
The blast was triggered when two wagons, which were packed with dynamite and being shunted into a siding, hit live electricity wires, a UN official told.
In Washington, us state department said that despite tense relations with Pyongyang, US would be ready to help.
The explosion drew sympathy from neighbouring countries, which have been locked into a tense stand-off with the Stalinist state over its nuclear ambitions.
Bureau Report