Anger, death toll rises in S Korean subway ‘arson’

Hopelessness hit home for about 1,000 relatives of the missing gathered in an auditorium one km from the site as they watched a videotape of the fire scene that showed the burned-out shell of the trains.

‘‘There’s nothing left,’’ shrieked an elderly woman. ‘‘Where can I find the body of my son?’’ she said above the sobs of hundreds like her. Some collapsed and had to be treated when the name of a relative was posted on a board as among those confirmed dead.

At the centre of controversy was why a driver kept the doors of his train shut after he pulled into a Taegu subway station alongside another train already ablaze. Among the many chilling final phone conversations reported by newspapers was one schoolgirl who told her mother about the fire on her train. ‘‘They won’t open the doors,’’ the girl said.

Other questions bubbled to the surface as police took in the driver of the second train. Forensic experts began the grim job of identifying charred victims and the list of missing grew to 343. Some of the missing could be among the unidentified bodies.

Relatives and media asked how the blaze spread so quickly and whether subway officials reacted quickly enough to save people from an inferno which sent black, acrid smoke belching into the sky for hours.

Other relatives were left clinging only to the hope that a bone or tooth of their loved ones could be found among the thick layer of ash in the carriages. A senior fire official said it would take months to identify many of the victims. (Reuters)