TOKYO, Japan, December 27 (ANI): Amid heavy snowfall, a massive pileup involving more than 50 vehicles on the Kan-etsu Expressway in Gunma Prefecture left at least two people dead and 26 others injured, Kyodo News reported.
The incident occurred Friday evening around 7:30 p.m. local time on the outbound carriageway in Minakami, northwest of Tokyo. Police said icy road conditions caused several vehicles to skid out of control, triggering a chain-reaction crash spanning roughly 300 meters.
Authorities reported that the accident began when a truck collided with another truck that had stopped following an earlier single-vehicle crash. The impact escalated rapidly, involving dozens of vehicles. At least 10 vehicles caught fire, and firefighters took more than seven hours to bring the blaze under control.
Among the fatalities was a 77-year-old woman from Tokyo, seated in the rear of a car driven by family members. Another body was recovered from the driver’s seat of a large truck. Of the 26 injured, five were in serious condition, while 21 sustained minor injuries.
Following the crash, a section of the expressway was closed as severely damaged vehicles, some burned beyond recognition, remained strewn across the outbound lanes. Motorists had been advised to limit their speed to 50 kilometers per hour due to snowfall at the time of the incident.
A truck driver in his 60s recounted the chaos, saying his vehicle struck the median while attempting to avoid another car. “The ice made it difficult for me to control the steering wheel. I feared for my life,” he said, adding that he heard multiple blasts during the collision.
Officials noted that heavy snowfall coincided with the start of Japan’s year-end and New Year holidays, contributing significantly to the accident. Sections of the expressway remained closed for investigation and wreckage clearance.
The pileup drew widespread attention online, with many expressing shock given Japan’s reputation for having some of the safest road networks in the world.
About The Author
