North Korea nuclear base collapses killing hundreds

The Punggye-ri test site in North Korea is carved deep into Mount Mantap, as these file images show

The collapse happened at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country's north-east on October 10, according to our sources

A TUNNEL at an underground North Korea nuclear site has collapsed with up to 200 people killed, according to reports.

The collapse happened at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the north-east of the country on October 10, according to Japan’s TV Asahi.

The disaster has prompted fears of a massive radioactive leak which could spark a Chernobyl- or Fukushima-style disaster.

A North Korean official said the collapse happened during the construction of an underground tunnel, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.

Some 100 people are said to have been trapped by the initial tunnel collapse, with a 

Lee Eugene, a spokeswoman at South Korea's unification ministry, said: "We are aware of the report but do not know anything about it."

The accident is believed to have been caused by Kim Joing-un’s sixth nuclear test on March 3 which weakened the mountain, according to the report.

PLEIADES CNES/AIRBUS DS/38 NORTH/SPOT IMAGE

A satellite image taken on April 12, 2017 of a North Korean Punggye-ri test site

It was reported earlier this year that the mountain under which the base is believed to be hidden was at risk of collapsing and leaking radiation into the region.

Experts said if the peak crumbles, clouds of radioactive dust and gas would blanket the region, the South China Morning Post reported.

The Punggye-ri test site is carved deep into the side of Mount Mantap.

Geophysicist Wen Lianxing and his team at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, said they were “confident” underground detonations were occurring underneath the mountain.

REUTERS

Satellite images show the area around North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site

REUTERS

Punggye-ri is seen in commercial satellite imagery taken April 12, 2017

They posted an analysis of data collected from more than 100 seismic monitoring sites across China.

This has narrowed down the location of Pyongyang’s nuclear tests with a margin of error of just 100m. They’ve all been under the same mountain.

Seismic data showed the underground test triggered an earthquake of magnitude 6.3, around ten times more powerful than the fifth test a year ago.