Translated material
Horror in the Dungeon
A madman set fire to a South Korean subway
Yesterday, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung declared the Jeongangno metro station in the country's third-largest city, Daegu, a “special disaster zone.” At least 52 people were killed and another 138 suffered burns and poisonous fumes as a result of a fire that engulfed two trains. 155 subway passengers and employees are still missing, and most of them are likely dead.The fire started around ten o'clock in the morning as a result of arson. Within two hours, the police detained the probable arsonist. This is truck driver Kim Dae Han, he is about 50 years old. Passengers at the station saw him take a plastic milk carton out of his bag and hold a lighter to it. They tried to stop him, but did not have time. The criminal threw a container (obviously containing an incendiary mixture) into the carriage; it immediately burst into flames; the fire very quickly engulfed all six carriages of the train, and then another train that arrived at the station.
According to rescuers, in the carriages there are dozens of bodies burned almost to the skeletons, some of which only ashes remain. Everything was covered in thick, toxic smoke from burning synthetic materials. Hundreds of people in panic blocked the exits from the subway, many died in the stampede. The platform is littered with shoes and personal belongings of passengers. The electric lighting switched off automatically and the station was plunged into darkness. Firefighters, rescuers with oxygen cylinders and an ambulance arrived on the scene instantly, but they managed to take control of the situation only after three and a half hours.
According to the police, the arsonist, Kim Dae Han, is crazy. He stated that he committed a terrible deed in desperation, because due to improper treatment in one of the oriental medicine clinics in 2001, his health condition worsened, and he had already warned his family about his intention to set fire to the hated hospital. Why he ultimately chose the metro is unknown. The terrible consequences of his black deed eliminate 3.2 thousand people, the only operating line of the city metro running through the center is out of order. The arsonist will have many more lives on his conscience as the rescue work progresses. He himself was practically unharmed.
The families of the victims of the tragedy will be provided with financial assistance and tax benefits. The scale of the disaster is truly enormous. Until now, the country's government has made such a decision only twice: first when the Sambun department store building collapsed on June 29, 1995, and then after forest fires in the mountains on the east coast in April 2000. President of Russia Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to the President of the Republic of Korea expressing sincere sympathy to the families and friends of the victims.
On January 8, 1977, in Moscow, a bomb exploded in a subway train between the Izmailovskaya and Pervomaiskaya stations. As a result of the terrorist attack, 7 people were killed and 37 were injured. As the investigation established, the explosions in Moscow were organized by three residents of Yerevan, who were arrested in November of the same year.
On November 18, 1987, a fire occurred in the London Underground at King's Cross station, in which 36 people died and more than 100 suffered severe burns and poisoning from acrid smoke.
On March 20, 1995, adherents of the Aum Shinrikyo sect carried out a terrorist attack on several Tokyo metro stations using the chemical warfare agent sarin gas. As a result of the attack, about 5.5 thousand people were injured, 11 people were killed.
On July 25, 1995, an explosion occurred on an express train at the Saint-Michel metro station in Paris. 8 people were killed and more than 80 were injured.
On October 9, 1995, as a result of a fire in the subway of the Indian city of Kolkata, more than 40 people received burns and carbon monoxide poisoning.
On October 17, 1995, a bomb exploded in the Paris metro between Saint-Michel and Musée d'Orsay stations, injuring 28 people.
On October 28, 1995, a fire occurred in the Baku metro. 290 people died.
On June 11, 1996, in the Moscow metro on the stretch between the Tulskaya and Nagatinskaya stations, an improvised explosive device exploded in the fourth carriage of the train. The explosion killed 4 people and injured 16 people.
On May 5, 2001, an explosion occurred at the Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya metro station in Moscow. 10 people were injured.
Experts from the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia noted that the problem of fire extinguishing in the metro is very relevant for our country, especially for the capital’s subway, given its enormous scale. Last year alone, more than 10 fires occurred in the Moscow metro, although there were no casualties. Since the late 80s, all metro cars operating in the capital have been lined only with special materials that do not emit carbon monoxide when burned, and automatic fire extinguishing systems have been installed in tunnels and stations. According to experts from the All-Russian Research Institute of Fire Defense, if there is a fire in a metro car while it is at the station, theoretically the metro employees themselves can eliminate the emergency and evacuate passengers. However, if a fire occurs in a tunnel during rush hour, when one train carries up to 3 thousand passengers, it will be much more difficult to avoid casualties. The Moscow metro, fortunately, has never had such an emergency in its history. But theoretically, the cause of death could be smoke poisoning (not only the passenger compartment of the train can burn, but also the working mechanisms - engine windings, brake pads, etc.) and electric shock. It was the latter, by the way, that became the cause of one of the largest “metro accidents” that occurred on October 26, 1995 in Baku.