South Korea trains collide, killing one and injuring dozens
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 22 July, 2014, 6:32pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 22 July, 2014, 7:13pm
Reuters in Seoul
South Korea trains collide, killing one and injuring dozens
Two passenger trains collided in South Korea on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring dozens, a hospital official and police said, in the latest in a string of accidents that has rattled the country.
A commuter train and a tourist train collided in Taebaek, a resort area about 200 kilometres southeast of Seoul. A police official said more than 70 people had been injured, but declined to confirm any deaths.
In April, a ferry capsized on its way to the resort island of Jeju, killing more than 300 people, most of them children, a disaster that provoked grief and outrage.
That was followed by a fire at a shopping mall that killed eight and a fire at a hospital for the elderly that killed 21. Nearly 200 people were injured in two subway accidents in Seoul earlier this year.
South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, has developed into a vibrant and technically advanced democracy, but faces criticism that regulatory controls and safety standards have not kept pace.
