A Buddhist humanitarian aid group said yesterday that two troop trains packed with soldiers collided head-on in North Korea in April, leaving more than 1,000 dead.
Brake failure
The reported accident occurred in Kowon County in the remote and rugged northeastern province of South Hamkyong on April 23 when a train went out of control on a downhill stretch of track after its brakes failed.
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.
News leak
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 of its northern border with China has relaxed in recent years amid a 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.
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