Iri Station Explosion | |
---|---|
Details | |
Date | 11 November 1977 |
Location | Iri, now Iksan |
Coordinates | 35°56′26″N 126°56′47″E / 35.94062°N 126.94636°E |
Country | South Korea |
Incident type | Munitions Explosion |
Statistics | |
Trains | 1 |
Deaths | 59 |
Injured | 1300+ |
The Iri station explosion was a disaster that occurred in Iri, North Jeolla, South Korea on November 11, 1977, at 9:15 p.m. About 40 tons of dynamite carried in a freight train Gwangju exploded at Iri station. The town and train station have both been rechristened as Iksan. At least 56 people were killed. [1]
The explosion killed 59 people and seriously injured 185 others; [2] altogether, over 1,300 people were injured. At the time, the population of Iri numbered around 130,000 people. [3]
The force of the explosion carved a crater ten meters deep and thirty meters wide. Most structures within a 500-meter radius from the site of the explosion were severely damaged. Approximately 9,500 buildings were affected by the explosion, which left about 10,000 people without a home. Residential apartment buildings, the city's first, were constructed to accommodate the displaced. [3]
Financial damage was extensive; property losses alone were estimated to be ₩23 billion won; [4] the government allocated ₩13 billion won for the recovery effort. [5] [6]
Transportation Minister Choi Kyung-rok resigned soon thereafter. [3]
The news agency said the explosion was much more powerful than a blast in the southern South Korean city of Iri in 1977 when a freight train carrying dynamite blew up, killing 56 people and injuring 1,300.
Iri Station Explosion | |
---|---|
Details | |
Date | 11 November 1977 |
Location | Iri, now Iksan |
Coordinates | 35°56′26″N 126°56′47″E / 35.94062°N 126.94636°E |
Country | South Korea |
Incident type | Munitions Explosion |
Statistics | |
Trains | 1 |
Deaths | 59 |
Injured | 1300+ |
The Iri station explosion was a disaster that occurred in Iri, North Jeolla, South Korea on November 11, 1977, at 9:15 p.m. About 40 tons of dynamite carried in a freight train Gwangju exploded at Iri station. The town and train station have both been rechristened as Iksan. At least 56 people were killed. [1]
The explosion killed 59 people and seriously injured 185 others; [2] altogether, over 1,300 people were injured. At the time, the population of Iri numbered around 130,000 people. [3]
The force of the explosion carved a crater ten meters deep and thirty meters wide. Most structures within a 500-meter radius from the site of the explosion were severely damaged. Approximately 9,500 buildings were affected by the explosion, which left about 10,000 people without a home. Residential apartment buildings, the city's first, were constructed to accommodate the displaced. [3]
Financial damage was extensive; property losses alone were estimated to be ₩23 billion won; [4] the government allocated ₩13 billion won for the recovery effort. [5] [6]
Transportation Minister Choi Kyung-rok resigned soon thereafter. [3]
The news agency said the explosion was much more powerful than a blast in the southern South Korean city of Iri in 1977 when a freight train carrying dynamite blew up, killing 56 people and injuring 1,300.