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Tuesday, 18 February, 2003, 10:01 GMT Fatal arson attack on S Korea subway
 Rescue efforts are being hampered by smoke
At least 100 people have been killed and many others injured in a fire on an underground train in the South Korean city of Daegu. MBC-TV said that one of its reporters went down to the fire site wearing a gas mask and saw "dozens" of charred bodies in subway cars.
Thick black smoke continued to pour out of the subway hours after the fire broke out, hampering the rescue operation. According to eyewitness reports, a man started the fire by setting alight a milk container containing flammable liquid in a carriage. "When the man tried to use a cigarette lighter to light the box, some passengers tried to stop him. Apparently a scuffle erupted and the box exploded into flames," Kim Byong-hak, a police lieutenant in Daegu, told the Associated Press news agency. Police said they were treating the incident as arson and that a 56-year-old man had been arrested. Skeletons As the fire spread through the six-carriage train, a second train reportedly halted in the station and also caught fire. Toxic fumes were said to be hampering attempts by emergency services to reach people still inside the subway station.
YTN television network said some of the bodies had been reduced to skeletons. Daegu Mayor Cho Hae-Nyong said the corpses were "all in a state of being difficult to identify". Pictures showed the charred frames of subway carriages and a platform littered with shoes and discarded belongings. The injured have been rushed to hospitals, where some are reported to be in a serious condition. The authorities say the fire was extinguished by 1300 local time (0400 GMT) - about three hours after it started. Motive sought One police officer said the suspect was believed to have mental health problems. "It is not known immediately what has motivated him. We believe he is mentally ill. He is known to have been treated at a mental hospital," Daegu police station chief Suh Hyon-soo told AP. South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung sent a message of condolence to the victims, the president's office said. Daegu - about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south-east of the capital, Seoul - is South Korea's third-largest city and was one of the host cities for last year's football World Cup. As rescue efforts continue, authorities in Seoul have stepped up security at subway stations, fearing a possible copycat attack. |
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 18 Feb 03 | Asia-Pacific
28 Jan 03 | Country profiles
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The bodies were all in a state of being difficult to identify
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