Early in December last year a freight train heading towards Baekam in mountainous Yangkang Province got derailed, causing almost 90 casualties, according to a source from the province.
Reporting the news yesterday, the source said, “On December 11th, a freight train carrying timber from Yeonam-eup in Baekam (in the middle of the county) to Baekam Workers-gu in southern Baekam derailed on a sharply curved section of track and went down a hillside.”
According to the source, 18 people died and approximately another 70 were wounded.
“Those people among the dead who were unidentifiable because they weren’t carrying ID cards were given a joint funeral,” the source explained, “The wounded were moved to the Railways Hospital in Baekam Workers-gu, but ward space was insufficient, so some were cared for by the Second People’s Hospital.”
The Baekam Branch Office of the Northern Provinces Railways Bureau (under the Ministry of Railways) has concluded that an engineer who died in the accident was fundamentally responsible for it, according to the source, who said that engineers and technicians are now keen to avoid driving freight trains.
He added also, “A People’s Safety Ministry agent in charge of that neighborhood attended a people’s unit meeting after the accident and informed us, ‘You absolutely must bring your ID card and permit no matter what, for a trip or to trade, otherwise they can’t report your death to anybody,’”
Elsewhere, the source also speculated, “Maybe the costs for the funeral were covered with profits derived from grain confiscated from the accident spot.”
The area was apparently in chaos after the accident, with grains and other agricultural products due to be sold by housewives trying to trade in the bigger counties and provinces scattered everywhere.
“Aside from the accident itself, a bigger issue was that the PSM agents who had to deal with it tried to collect valuables from the scene,” the source added, “The atmosphere was unsettled with rumors about agents.”
The Baek-Mu line, which links Baekam with Musan in North Hamkyung Province, is generally used for freight rather than passenger transport, carrying timber collected by the Yeonam Forestry Department.
There are apparently train accidents on the line regularly; three big accidents in the last year, and minor ones quite regularly. On November 30th, Free North Korea Broadcasting (Free NK) reported a similar accident, wherein a train passing Baekam Ridge fell down a slope, causing hundreds of casualties.
