N Korea blast: How to help

Aid workers say more than half those injured are children

Global aid agencies have launched emergency appeals to help the survivors of last week's explosion in North Korea.

The massive blast destroyed 40% of the buildings in the town of Ryongchon, and injured more than a thousand people, aid officials say.

They say thousands of people are in desperate need of food aid, and hospitals treating the injured lack even the very basic equipment, such as intravenous drips.

The UN's World Food Programme appealed urgently on Tuesday for 1,000 tonnes of food aid to feed survivors.

Thousands of people have lost most or all of what they had and they were already struggling Niels Juel IFRC official

Online donations can be made by logging on to their website at www.wfp.org and choosing the "Korea, DPR" option on their "Donations Online" page.

Alternatively, cheques and postal orders can be sent to the addresses provided in the "How to help" pages available on their website.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also called for funds to provide food, basic hygiene materials, kitchen equipment, clothing and fuel for cooking to the affected families.

"Thousands of people have lost most or all of what they had and they were already struggling," the federation's Regional Disaster Management Delegate Niels Juel said.

"They must be given a chance to recover and that requires sustained assistance."

Online donations can be made via their website at www.ifrc.org.