Limited-Express Train Kills 4 Workers at Shin-Kanuma Station as Japan Probes Safety Lapses
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 21
Limited-Express Train Kills 4 Workers at Shin-Kanuma Station as Japan Probes Safety Lapses
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 21
Summary
Four workers in their 50s and 60s were killed around 10:46 a.m. Thursday when a Tobu Railway limited-express train struck them during herbicide spraying at Shin-Kanuma Station north of Tokyo.
A 10-person work team was on site, including a supervisor and 3 lookouts meant to warn of approaching trains with whistles, microphones and a yellow flag, but officials gave no clear answer on whether those checks were functioning.
Police and Tobu Railway are investigating whether safety rules were followed; the operator said the usual lookout system was in place and apologized to the victims' families and passengers.
Train service on the Tobu Nikko Line was suspended after the crash, and a passenger told NHK the train made an emergency stop after a "strange noise."
Fatal rail accidents are rare in Japan, where limited-express services are among the country's fastest trains after the Shinkansen.