Home>News Center>World
       
 

At least 50 killed in Japan train derailment
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-25 18:16

Railway officials said the cause was not immediately apparent, but that calculations had shown that a train could derail if it were travelling at nearly twice the speed limit at the site where the accident occurred.

Rescuers in hard hats clustered near the twisted remains of the front two cars, one of which had been smashed to less than half its normal width, using cutters and ropes to get inside.

Passenger Tatsuya Akashi, who had been on his way to work, told public broadcaster NHK it felt as if the train had speeded up as it went around a curve.

"I thought there were some strange swings, and then the train derailed. No one knew what happened and everyone kept screaming," he said.

It was the worst train accident in Japan since 1963 when about 160 people were killed in a multiple train collision at Yokohama, near Tokyo.

OVER-SHOT STATION

"There was no side to the car any more, and bleeding people were crawling out. I heard others screaming 'it hurts, it hurts'", a woman in her 20s told NHK.

Injured people are tended to after a derailed commuter train smashed into an apartment building in Amagasaki, western Japan April 25, 2005, killing two people and injuring many others, reports said. Nearly 140 people have been hurt, reports said.
Injured people are tended to after a derailed commuter train smashed into an apartment building in Amagasaki, western Japan April 25, 2005. [Reuters]
Soldiers from Japan's Self-Defence Forces were dispatched to the scene to help with rescue efforts.

Operator West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) said the cause of the derailment was under investigation but it confirmed that the train had over-shot the station at its previous stop.
Page: 123



 
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

Officials react angrily to US moves on yuan

 

   
 

China, Japan mend fences, pitfalls ahead

 

   
 

Chen 'okays' opposition leader's visit

 

   
 

EU ups textile pressure on China

 

   
 

Legislators examine motion on HK chief

 

   
 

At least 50 killed in Japan train derailment

 

   
  39 rescued from Jilin coal mine flooding
   
  Chen 'okays' opposition leader's visit
   
  China, Japan mend fences, pitfalls ahead
   
  Forum renews vow for integration
   
  Nation in LNG talks with Australia
   
  Officials react angrily to US moves on yuan
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Train derails in western Japan, killing 49
   
At least 17 killed in Indian train crash
   
Many feared killed in Indian train crash
   
Festival train ticket hikes under fire
   
Trains take the holiday travel strain
   
Train ticket scalpers under arrest
   
Ticket counterfeiters caught
  News Talk  
  It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
Advertisement