Train explosion devastation
NZPA Seoul Soldiers and civilians laboured yesterday to provide housing for thousands of homeless families who huddled overnight in makeshift tents in near-freezing temperatures after the worst peace-time explosion in South Korean history. Thirty tons of dynamite exploded aboard a parked freight train at the Iri station, 193 km south of Seoul, on Friday night, killing 56 people and injuring 1350 others. ' Officials feared that the death toll will rise. About 9500 buildings, mostly houses, were either destroyed or damaged by
the blast, causing an estimated property loss of
S2OM. Several thousand troops have helped Civil Defence corps and civilians restore power and communication lines, as well as railways. The police are still questioning Shin Moo-11, a guard assigned to the waggon loaded with the dynamite. However, the guard, an employee of the Korea Explosive Company in Seoul, said that he had left the waggon unguarded for an hour, to go to a nearby restaurant, before he discovered a fire inside, and sounded the alarm.
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Press, 14 November 1977, Page 1
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168Train explosion devastation Press, 14 November 1977, Page 1
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