Source: World Health Organization
Date: 24 Apr 2004

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DPRK Ryongchon Train Disaster: Situation Report #2 (WHO) - April 24, 2004

1. An assessment mission, consisting of UN agencies, IFRC, NGOs and representatives from the diplomatic community, visited
the blast-site in Ryongchong county today. The mission spent about 2 hours walking through the affected area. However, the
mission was not able to visit the provincial hospitals in Sinuju where the injured are being cared for.
2. The current death toll stands at 154, out of which 76 were children, the majority being from the primary school. This
school is around three hundred meter from the site of the explosion. More than 1300 people were reported injured, with 350
people admitted to hospital. Because of damage to the Ryongchong County hospital, the injured that required
hospitalization had been referred to Sinuju, the provincial capital of North Pyongan province, about 20 kilometers away.
Only five people are currently missing and not accounted for.

3. Houses and public buildings in the vicinity of about 500 meter from the explosion have major damage or are destroyed,
including two schools. According to government officials, 1,850 houses and 129 government buildings were severely damaged
and a larger number partially damaged.

4. The immediate rescue operation appears now to be completed. Families are finding temporary shelter by shifting to other
houses in the town, organized by local authorities. The National Red Red Cross Society has been playing an important in
providing relief items and assisting in the rescue operation. At this stage, the work at the disaster site seems well
organized.

5. The immediate need for medical relief items seems to be covered by what is currently being supplied or being in the
pipe-line, but WHO will within the next two-three days do further assessment of the status and the need of the injured
patients in hospital. WHO has already delivered medical supplies and equipment for about 100,000 USD to Ryongchon and
Sinuju. A continuous dialogue is maintained with Ministry of Public Health on the need for additional support. An
agreement has been reached with ECHO and the county authorities that WHO will provide support for the rehabilitation of
the damaged Ryongchon County Hospital within the ongoing project for strengthening of county hospitals.