Staff members of UN agencies and foreign diplomats in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) on Saturday morning left Pyongyang for the crash site in Ryongchon to investigate the massive train explosion that killed at least 54 people and wounded thousands of others Thursday.

It is the first time the DPRK government has opened the site of explosion to foreigners since the tragedy happened.

Representatives from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the World Food Program (WFP), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and representatives from the diplomatic community are participating inthe investigation.

The DPRK agreed to accept UN aid and allowed representatives of UN agencies to travel to the scene of the accident after two meetings earlier Friday between the DPRK government and Massod Hyder, WFP's representative in the DPRK.

The DPRK's Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday morning that there was a "very serious" train blast at the Ryongchon Railway Station, some 200 km north of the capital city of Pyongyang. It was the first time that the DPRK formally admitted the incident.

"An explosion occurred at Ryongchon Railway Station in North Phyongan Province on April 22 due to the electrical contact causedby carelessness during the shunting of wagons loaded with ammoniumnitrate fertilizer and tank wagons," the KCNA said.

"The investigation conducted so far shows that the damage is very serious," it added.

The DPRK government also expresses appreciation for offers of international humanitarian assistance in devastating train explosion, the agency said.

A spokesman for the OCHA said in New York on Friday that the DPRK government sent a formal request to the United Nations for international assistance and the United Nations would send an assessment team to the field.

The UNICEF, the WHO and the IFRC have already reallocated about150,000 US dollars worth of medicines and medical supplies from their existing programs to meet some of the immediate needs.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan extended his condolences Friday to the people and government of the DPRK on deaths and injuries inthe accident.

Many international organizations and countries said they were ready to provide humanitarian aid to the DPRK following the disastrous blast.

On Friday, a spokesman for the US State Department told reporters that Washington would weigh information to see if there was a need for US help.

British Secretary of State for International Development HilaryBenn told the BBC on Friday that Britain was "very happy to help."

Earlier Friday, South Korean Acting President and Prime Minister Goh Kun expressed deep condolences over the disaster and ordered government officials to seek ways of providing humanitarian aid to the DPRK if needed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia was ready to offer assistance. "Russia will render assistance if the DPRK comes up with such a request," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Friday that Australia would be prepared to help the DPRK if help is requested.

The IFRC told Xinhua that at least 54 were killed and 1,249 injured in the train blast in Ryongchon, a town about 20 km south of the border with China, and that the death toll could increase.

The DPRK's Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee said the explosion, which reportedly caused major damage to housing and infrastructure, including schools and medical facilities, leveled more than 1,800 dwellings.

South Korean media reported that the massive explosion took place when two fuel-laden trains collided Thursday afternoon near Ryongchon and that the DPRK authorities had declared a state of emergency there.

A staff member of the IFRC's Pyongyang Bureau said 1,850 houses were destroyed, 6,350 were damaged and 12 public buildings were affected by the blast.

The Chinese Embassy in the DPRK confirmed Friday that two overseas Chinese were killed and 12 injured in the explosion. Among the 12 injured overseas Chinese, two sustained serious injuries. The explosion also destroyed 23 Chinese residents' houses.

The Chinese embassy has set up a special team to deal with the accident and will provide essential assistance to the victims.

Source: Xinhua