S Korea trains collide, one dead, scores injured

SEOUL - Two South Korean passenger trains collided head-on Tuesday on an eastern coastal track, killing one person and injuring more than 80, officials said.

It was the latest in a series of accidents that have made public transport safety a hot-button issue following the Sewol ferry disaster in April that killed around 300 people.

A statement from the transport ministry said one passenger was killed and 86 others were injured, four of them seriously.

The force of the collision, which occurred in Gangwon province shortly before 6:00pm (0900 GMT), caused two carriages on one of the trains to derail.

The precise cause of the accident was not immediately clear, but the ministry said one of the trains appeared to have moved off when it ought to have waited for the oncoming train to pass.

President Park Geun-Hye, who was criticised for her response to the Sewol tragedy, has ordered a national overhaul of safety standards.