N. Korea: Report of 1,000 Deaths in Train Crash

The Daily NK ^ | 06/02/06 | Lee Hyun-ju

[TigerLikesRooster]

/begin my translation

N. Korea: Report of 1,000 Deaths in Train Crash

Will take months to notify victims' family.

[2006-06-02 10:46]

 Buraesan Station along Pyongyang-Pyonggang Line (from "Good Friends")

(note: the station is a spot marked with short solid line in the middle of winding dotted line going from right to left, after branching off from vertical line at the right side of the picture.

A report came out, alleging that large-scale train crash occurred near Gowon County, S. Hamkyong Province, killing over 1,000 passengers. It remains to be seen if this can be confirmed.

A N. Korea aid organization, Good Friends (Co,) reported in its June 1st issue of N. Korean news, "On Apr. 23, near Buraesan(Worker's District) Station, No. 13 Express Train running on Pyongyang-Pyonggang Line had a head-on collusion with a freight train going from Gowon to Yang-duk. Over 1,000 people were killed at the crash."

According to the news, the trains were the special transports carrying infantry soldiers who completed their 10-year service, and those who volunteer for (military) service.

As for the cause, it reported that the compressor of No. 13 Express Train broke down when it was running downhill near Buraesan Station, Gowon Country, which made the train unable to apply its brakes and avoid freight train running upwards, leading to the head-on collusion. 

To take care of its aftermath, N. Korean authorities are discussing about compensation to victims' families. However, notifying the families alone would take months, according to the news.

 The authorities are busy securing the money for compensation. As one likely measure, they are considering slapping a tax on goods imported through border customs, the publication said.

 However, since N. Korean authorities had never given out compensation for any train crash, doubts have been raised on the idea of charging a tax at border customs for compensation money


Lee Hyun-ju   lhj@dailynk.com

/end my translation

[TigerLikesRooster]

Another deadly but probably needless accident due to decaying communist system, which refuses to die.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Steel Wolf]

As one likely measure, they are considering slapping a tax on goods imported through border customs, the publication said.

Ahem.

1000 dead from a train wreck? Maybe. I'm always skeptical of nice, round numbers.

This import tax may be the only real news here.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #3

well, it actually said over 1,000. Of course, the exact number is a state secret.:)

[sgtbono2002]

If anybody dissappeared into a Gulag over the last year their name may appear as a victim.

[beyond the sea]

"A report came out, alleging that (a) large-scale train crash occurred" ----

****

"large-scale train crash" -- I'd say so.

[G.Mason]

Gowan ... A thousand?

I want a recount.

[yankeedame]

I believe this story about as far as I can throw a handful of feathers. Oh, this is not to say there wasn't a train crash of some sort, or that a lot of people died in some way. But frankly, I think this is more out of "I,Claudius" than anything else.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #8

Due to N. Korea's secretive nature, it takes a long long time before they can double-check and file a sound report. An important story always came out this way first. This is why I decided to post it rather than waiting for months to see this show up at some major newspaper.

[Westlander]

Consider this is being reported from a country that has the tactical nuclear accuracy of a bottle rocket.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

North Korea is like an out of control freight train, headed for a cliff.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"1000 dead from a train wreck? Maybe. I'm always skeptical of nice, round numbers"

Think Kim is getting ronery because Iran is getting all the attention now.

[metmom]

They never said it was an *accident*.

[Wuli]

ping

[Red Badger]

"large-scale train crash" -- I'd say so.

....as opposed to an HO scale train crash.............

[Red Badger]

They certainly have a lot of problems with trains in NK. Maybe this was another assassination attempt on the little ronery one.........

[yankeedame]

Due to N. Korea's secretive nature, it takes a long long time before they can double-check and file a sound report. An important story always came out this way first. This is why I decided to post it rather than waiting for months to see this show up at some major newspaper.

Very wise decision.

[expatpat]

With so many soldiers' deaths involved, I can't help wondering if it wasn't really a failed mutiny or putsch attempt by part of the NK military.

[beyond the sea]

LOL......... I guess...... but I gotta be honest with you ......... I don't get it.

;-)

[Red Badger]

HO Scale refers to a particular size of toy train track. They come in different scale sizes...........

[Red Badger]

HO scale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HO scale (H0 scale in continental Europe) is the most popular scale of model railway in most of the world outside the United Kingdom, where the slightly larger in scale OO scale is most common. The name is derived from the German Halb-null ("half-zero"), because its 1:87 scale is approximately half that of O scale.

In HO scale, 3.5 millimetres represents 1 real foot; this awkward ratio works out to about 1:87.086. In HO, rails are usually spaced 16.5 millimeters apart which models the standard railroad gauge of 4' 8.5".

Modern HO trains run on realistic-looking two-rail track, which is powered by direct current (varying the voltage applied to the rails to change the speed, and polarity to change direction), or by Digital Command Control (sending commands to a decoder in each locomotive). Some trains, most notably by Märklin of Germany, run on alternating current, supplied by a "third rail" consisting of small bumps on each tie down the centre of the track.

HO scale trains first appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1930s, originally as an alternative to OO scale. It proved unsuitable for scale modelling UK trains. However, it became very popular in the United States, where it took off in the late 1950s after interest in model railroads as toys began to decline and more emphasis began to be placed on realism in response to hobbyist demand. While HO scale is by nature more delicate than O scale, its smaller size allows modelers to fit more details and more scale miles into a comparable area.

In the 1960s, as HO scale began to overtake O scale in popularity, even the stalwarts of other sizes, including Gilbert (makers of American Flyer) and Lionel Corporation began manufacturing HO trains. HO locomotives, rolling stock (cars or carriages), buildings, and scenery are available today from a large number of manufacturers in a variety of price brackets.

HO scale has several narrower gauges to represent narrow gauge trains in the same scale as their HO counterparts, these include:
- HOe scale - with 9 mm gauge tracks (the same as N scale), usually used to represent 2 foot gauge in HO Scale.
- HOm scale - with 12 mm gauge tracks (the same as TT scale), usually used to represent meter gauge in HO Scale; this is a particularly popular scale in Europe.

[Thud]

Lots of people are dead. There must be a train in it. Or someone might think there is popular unrest and maybe even an uprising.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #22

Who knows? You might be right. On the other hand, N. Korean railway system is so decrepit that this kind of accident could easily occur. They have top-of-the-line production facilities for counterfeit dollars, decent production facilities for missiles, nukes, and illegal drugs(METH & heroin.) All other industrial infrastructure has broken down, bring N. Korea back to pre-industrial age.

[beyond the sea]

Danke ...... thanks for the "HO" info................. I thought you meant something else.

Have a great weekend.

[massgopguy]

But the good news is that Kim Jong Il got 12 hole in one's on his last round of golf.

[beyond the sea]

But the good news is that Kim Jong Il got 12 hole in one's on his last round of golf.

LOL.

Yeh, I heard that. That little menace is a great golfer! Too bad he blew that double eagle on the par 5 16th.

[Thud]

Unless a long bridge went down with a packed train on it, the fatality figure is suspicious.

[libstripper]

I'm sort of a RR buff, have watched every History Channel special on railroads and railroading, and read as much as is vaguely reasonable about RR disasters. The reported fatalities here exceed any others I've read about by about 5 to 1. This could easily be the world's worst.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #28

Usually, trains are jam-packed, and train services are few and far-between in N. Korea. Besides, safety is atrocious.

The worst disaster happened some years back, resulting in thousands of casualties. I forgot the exact date.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #28

I found a source article in Korean. It was also reported in articles written in English.

Official death toll was 2,400. It happened in 1997, on a pass between Heechon and Jonchon in N. Korea. One of N. Korean defectors was party operatives who worked near the crash site and had access to internal documents at People's Security Dept. He relayed this information.

[TigerLikesRooster]

I found an AFP article on this subject, with pretty much the same content. I posted it on FR, too.

Aid group says April train collision in North Korea left 1,000 dead(international media version)