Four workers hit and killed by train in Japan

TOKYO: Four individuals died in Japan on Thursday after being hit by a train, authorities stated, in a country renowned for its normally excellent rail safety record.

Key points

• The incident involving four workers took place at Shin-Kanuma Station north of Tokyo, the fire department remarked.
• Famously there has never been a passenger fatality from a derailment or a collision on Japan's network of "shinkansen" bullet trains.
• While one was on the platform, another official had remarked earlier that when emergency services arrived, three workers were still trapped under the train.
• "Before being taken to hospital, all four of them were unconscious, " he informed AFP.
• Nippon TV documented that the workers were removing weeds from around the train track.

Meanwhile, the incident involving four workers took place at Shin-Kanuma Station north of Tokyo, the fire department remarked. "The four were confirmed dead, " a fire department official informed AFP.

"Before being taken to hospital, all four of them were unconscious, " he informed AFP. Emergency services were first called at 10: 47 am (0147 GMT).

Japanese railways have one of the best safety records in the world, with fatal accidents extremely rare due to high levels of maintenance and training, and employ of advanced technology.

For now, four workers hit and killed by train in Japan remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.