Thousands might be dead in Ryongchan Train Explosion, Nork government actions will kill many more

As the Marmot reported, there has been a massive explosion in Yongchan, North Korea. What is the reaction of the North Korean government?

International telephone lines to the area appear to have been cut to prevent information about the explosion getting out, Yonhap added.

The North's creaking medical system would be hard pressed to cope with a large number of casualties, but there was no word any international agency or neighboring country had been asked for help.

"We have not yet received official information on the accident. We are trying to confirm the report," a Unification Ministry spokesman said in Seoul. Other officials at various government agencies also had no information.

I'm willing to suspend disbelief about the telephone lines, which could have been knocked out by the explosion, but ever moment is crucial in a disaster like this if you hope to find survivors in the rubble. There are experts from around the world who could be in Yongchan in a matter of hours but every hour of delay will cost more people their lives.

Of course, why would Pyeongyang care about the lives of a few hundred people who live near the station? After all this is the same government that killed at least 500,000 (and up to 2 million) of its own people in a self-induced and preventable famine and has killed thousands more in "reeducation" and labor camps.

I would like to think that the Norks would swallow their pride for the sake of their people just this once but I doubt it would happen. To make matters worse. Kim Jong-il's train was in the station just hours earlier. This could feed Nork paranoia and make them even more intransigent.

BTW, the reports have not been confirmed yet so we can hope that the death toll has been exaggerated.

(UPDATE: As "T" comments, CNN reports that North Korea has asked for Chinese help. No word on if they plan on asking for South Korean help.)

(UPDATE: This Chosun Ilbo article has this satellite file pic of Yongchang.

If this section of tracks is where the explosion took place, then most of the buildings you see would have been damage or destoyed.)

UPDATE (Friday night): The latest reports are at least 150 dead. An AP report gives an idea of the scale of the disaster:

The fearsome picture of devastation from the North Korean train explosions near the Chinese border took shape Friday with initial reports saying 150 were killed, 1,249 injured and 1,850 households destroyed.

North Korea (news - web sites)'s government said the explosion occurred when train cars carrying dynamite touched power lines, according to Anne O'Mahony, regional director of the Irish aid agency Concern.

"It says 150 people died, including some school children," O'Mahony told Irish radio station RTE by telephone from Pyongyang, the North's capital.

Red Cross spokesman John Sparrow in Beijing said the blast had killed at least 54 people and injured 1,249, but that he expected the toll to rise, citing the massive damage.

The explosion damaged another 6,350 buildings, Sparrow said, citing information from Red Cross officials in the North.

"When you look at the number of buildings destroyed, you have to be afraid of what you're going to find," Sparrow said. "We are anticipating that the casualty figures will increase," Sparrow said, citing figures from Red Cross officials in the North.

The BBC also has another satilite pic of Ryongchan, along with a small sat-pic of smoke over the town half-a-day later:

(UPDATE: That small photo in the upper right-hand corner was in fact NOT of Ryongchon. It was an old pic of an explosion in Baghdad. See here for details.)

Comments

[T]

According to CNN, North Korea has asked for China's assistance in the recovery effort.