Ryongchon Disaster
The Ryongchŏn disaster was a train disaster that occurred in the town of Ryongchŏn, North Korea, near the border with the People's Republic of China on April 22, 2004, at 39 58' 58.60"N 124 27' 32.18"E.
The disaster occurred when flammable cargo exploded at Ryongchon Station at around 13:00 local time (04:00 GMT). The news was released by South Korean media outlets, which reported that up to 3,000 people had been killed or injured in the blast and subsequent fires. The North Korean government declared a state of emergency in the region, but little information about the accident has been made public by the North Korean government. Shortly after the accident the North Korean government cut telephone lines to the rest of the world (an action correspondents attributed either to a desire to inhibit foreign reporting or to prevent their own population from learning news about the accident).
Read more about Ryongchon Disaster: Effects, Cause, North Korean Government Response, Israeli Connection
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