Snow had been falling on the Kan-etsu Expressway since morning when two trucks skidded and collided near the Minakami Interchange in Gunma Prefecture. The time was around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 26. More than 50 vehicles piled into the wreck behind them, The Asahi Shimbun reported, and over 10 of them caught fire.
Two people died. Twenty-six others were injured, five of them seriously and 21 lightly.
What police described
The prefectural police highway patrol said the lead trucks slid on the slippery surface. Following vehicles then hit them, or swerved to avoid them and struck the guardrail or the median strip. The road has two lanes in each direction, and a speed restriction of 50 kph was in force.
Miyuki Wakita, 77, of Chofu in western Tokyo, was killed. At around 9 a.m. on Dec. 27, searchers found a second body, not yet identified, in the driver’s seat of a large truck caught up in the crash.
Bhaskar English reported that more than 60 vehicles were involved and that firefighters needed approximately seven hours to bring the flames fully under control. It also cited police as saying low visibility contributed to the first collision. The Asahi account made no mention of fog.
Closure at the start of the holidays
The crash came as travelers set out for New Year’s holiday trips, and traffic was heavy. As of 7 a.m. on Dec. 27, both lanes between the Yuzawa and Tsukiyono interchanges were still shut.
East Nippon Expressway Co. could not say when the road would reopen. “At present, it is not yet known when the road closure will be lifted and it is expected to take a considerable amount of time,” the company said.
Sources
- Two people killed, 26 injured in 50-vehicle pileup in Gunma | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
- Highway crash in Japan leaves 2 dead, 26 injured: Several cars gutted as over 60 vehicles pile up due to low visibility; fire & chaos photos go viral
