Over 50-Vehicle Pileup On Japan Expressway Kills 2, Injures 26 | World News

At least two people were killed and 26 others were injured in a major accident involving more than 50 vehicles on a highway in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, during heavy snowfall, Kyodo News reported.

The incident occurred at around 19:30 local time on Friday evening, on the way to the Kan-etsu Expressway in Minakami, northwest of Tokyo.

Police said snowy conditions caused the road surface to become icy, causing several vehicles to spin out of control. This led to a chain-reaction accident that spread for nearly 300 meters, according to Kyodo News.

Authorities said the accident occurred when a truck hit another truck that had stopped following a previous single-vehicle collision.

The collision escalated quickly and dozens of vehicles were affected. At least 10 vehicles caught fire and it took firefighters more than seven hours to bring the blaze under control.

Police confirmed that among the dead was a 77-year-old Tokyo woman who was sitting in the back of a car driven by family members.

Another body was recovered from the driver’s seat of a large truck.

According to Kyodo News, five of the 26 injured were reported to be in serious condition and 21 were slightly injured.

In the aftermath, a section of the motorway was closed as vehicles remained severely damaged, some burnt beyond recognition, and scattered across the outgoing lanes.

It was reported that at the time of the accident, drivers were advised to limit their speed to 50 kilometers per hour due to snowfall.

Describing the chaos, a truck driver in his 60s said his vehicle crashed into the median while trying to avoid a car in front.

He also said he heard multiple explosions during the collision. “The ice made it difficult for me to control the steering wheel,” he said. “I feared for my life.”

Authorities issued a heavy snow warning across Japan late Friday, coinciding with the beginning of the end of the year and the New Year holidays.

Authorities stated that heavy snowfall played an important role in triggering the accident and said that some sections of the highway remained closed for investigation and cleaning of the debris.

Meanwhile, many netizens expressed their shock over the fatal accident on the Kan-etsu Expressway, noting that Japan is considered to have some of the safest road networks in the world.