Korea fire probe focuses on staff

Korea fire probe focuses on staff

Funerals for the victims have begun

Police in the South Korean city of Daegu have said they are considering pressing charges of criminal negligence against railway staff, following the station fire which killed more than 130 people on Tuesday.

A man with a history of mental illness has been detained for allegedly starting the fire.

But police have said they intend to question all railway staff involved in the incident, in which the second train was allowed into the station after the fire started.

Questions have also been raised about a delay in opening train doors and the general level of safety precautions at the station.

Angry relatives of the dead confronted President-elect Roh Moo-hyun, demanding answers, on Thursday.

The police investigation is particularly focusing on the driver of the second train, which pulled into the station alongside the burning train, and on which most of the victims died.

Chief investigator Cho Doo-won told a news conference: "We are investigating the possibility of negligence."

Master key

He added that they were also "investigating the possibility of withholding and tampering of evidence".

President-elect Roh has been confronted by angry families

Mr Cho said that, while passengers remained on the train, the driver escaped, and a master key which controls the train doors was found in a jacket he handed to a co-worker.

Once the master key is pulled out, the doors automatically close, Mr Cho said. The driver told police that he thought the passengers had already evacuated.

He told police that he had repeatedly told the passengers to leave, and waited 10 minutes before escaping himself.

"We are focusing our investigation on the possibility that he left the train at a timeframe that was not 10 minutes," Mr Cho said.

A transcript of the driver's conversation with the station controllers suggested that he was confused about what action he should take.

"It's a mess. It's stifling. Take some measures please. Should I evacuate the passengers? What should I do?" Mr Choi allegedly said.

Controllers' role

There have been questions asked about why his train was allowed into the station in the first place.

"When you enter the Joongang Station, drive carefully. There is a fire," controllers reportedly told the driver.

Mr Choi is reported to be too seriously burned to be properly questioned.

Police also said the man who admitted to starting the fire, 56-year-old Kim Dae-hwan, is too ill to be interrogated.

Mr Kim has reportedly said that he wanted to commit suicide by self-immolation but did not want to die alone.