Death Toll Now Three in Japan Train Wreck

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKYO – An express train traveling through strong winter winds derailed in northern Japan on Sunday, killing at least three people, injuring more than two dozen and leaving several trapped in the wreckage, officials said.

The injuries of the survivors outside the wreckage did not appear to be life-threatening, but it was not known how many were pinned inside or whether they were still alive, Yamagata police spokesman Yoshikatsu Oe said.

Kyodo News Agency reported that one of them had been rescued.

Five cars of the six-car express train derailed at 7:20 p.m., three of them toppling onto their sides in Yamagata prefecture, about 180 miles north of Tokyo, officials said. The train was going from northern Akita to Niigata prefecture.

Most of the injured passengers were on the first two cars, Oe said. It was unclear how many passengers were on the train. One official said 30, but public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo put the number of injured alone at 33.

Transport Ministry official Hiromi Mishima said it was not known what caused the derailment and that officials were assessing the extent of the damage

Yamagata police official Yasuhiro Sugiu said there had been high-speed wind warnings for the area. NHK quoted a train conductor as saying a strong gust of wind hit the train just before the accident. Winds in the area were about 48 mph, Kyodo reported.

Japan in recent days has suffered from unusually heavy snowfall, and blizzards have led to the deaths of eight people. But snow did not appear to be a factor in Sunday’s crash. NHK footage showed the wreckage in a rural area with only patches of snow on the ground.

Authorities said they did not know how fast the train was going.

Speed was believed to be a factor in an April 25 train wreck that killed 107 people and injured more than 500 others in Amagasaki, western Japan. That accident was Japan’s worst train wreck since 1963.