North Korean train 'carrying explosives'

Two trains that collided triggering a massive blast in North Korea were carrying explosives and not fuel, while casualty figures appeared to be lower than originally feared, an international Red Cross official said today.

The number of dead was at least 54, and 1,249 people were injured, said John Sparrow, a Red Cross spokesman in Beijing, but he expected the toll to rise as many buildings around the crash site were destroyed.