Japanese police say that parts of a tunnel have collapsed on a highway west of Tokyo, trapping an unknown number of vehicles as smoke from a fire inside prevented rescuers from approaching.
A fire department official told AFP by telephone that ceiling panels along a 50-60 metre section of the tunnel had collapsed, with at least two vehicles crushed under the debris. At least one vehicle caught fire.
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There is also a report that seven people are trapped in the tunnel.
A police spokesman, Yoshihiro Fukutani, said police were still trying to learn the exact situation inside the Sasago Tunnel, about 80 kilometres outside the city, after parts of a wall inside collapsed early Sunday morning.
Television footage showed police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances massed outside the tunnel’s entrance. A man who said he saw the collapse and alerted authorities to the emergency managed to escape after he was ordered to flee. The roof and windows of another vehicle parked on the roadside outside the tunnel were crushed; the injured occupants reportedly taken to a hospital.
With a report from AFP
A fire department official told AFP by telephone that ceiling panels along a 50-60 metre section of the tunnel had collapsed, with at least two vehicles crushed under the debris. At least one vehicle caught fire.
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AP Video[h=4]video[/h]Video: Japan hit by two rare tornadoesThere is also a report that seven people are trapped in the tunnel.
A police spokesman, Yoshihiro Fukutani, said police were still trying to learn the exact situation inside the Sasago Tunnel, about 80 kilometres outside the city, after parts of a wall inside collapsed early Sunday morning.
Television footage showed police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances massed outside the tunnel’s entrance. A man who said he saw the collapse and alerted authorities to the emergency managed to escape after he was ordered to flee. The roof and windows of another vehicle parked on the roadside outside the tunnel were crushed; the injured occupants reportedly taken to a hospital.
With a report from AFP