A South Korean passenger train that took a curved section of track at three times the recommended speed derailed yesterday, killing an engineer and injuring eight people, police and rail officials said.
According to the national rail operator, KORAIL, the locomotive and four of the train’s seven carriages jumped the tracks near Yulchon station, some 330km (200 miles) south of Seoul.
The train was carrying 27 people, including two locomotive engineers, one of whom was killed in the accident that occurred near the southern city of Yeosu.
Yonhap news agency quoted police as saying that the train was rounding a bend at 127kph, when it should have been moving at less than 50kph.
The second locomotive engineer was reportedly in a serious condition, while another seven people suffered mostly minor injuries.
An official at the transport ministry’s railway police declined to comment on the cause of the accident, which took place around 3.40am (1840 GMT), citing an ongoing investigation.
South Korea railway workers are seen with the derailed passenger train near the southern port city of Yeosu.
