20 South Korean tourists injured in North Korean bridge accident

SEOUL: Twenty South Korean tourists were injured on Sunday when they fell off an iron suspension bridge at North Korea's Mount Kumgang tourist resort, officials said.
       
Six were seriously injured, South Korean tour operator Hyundai Asan said, adding the accident took place near a waterfall at the scenic mountain resort on the east coast.
       
"The 20-metre-long bridge tilted due to a loose fastening bolt, sending 20 tourists falling about seven metres," a Hyundai Asan spokesman said.
       
"Fourteen people received treatment at a hospital in the resort, while six others were being transported across the border to a South Korean hospital," he said.
       
The North Korean tour programme was launched by South Korea's Hyundai Group. This was the first major accident there since tours to Mount Kumgang began in 1998.
       
Visitors to Kumgang, which means Diamond Mountain and is considered the peninsula's prime beauty spot, go on challenging hiking trips.
       
Some 300,000 South Koreans travel to the resort, just north of the heavily fortified border, every year.