Officials and media reports say two people are dead after a man set himself on fire aboard one of Japan’s high-speed bullet trains.
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Kanagawa Prefecture Police confirmed to NBC News that in addition to the self-immolation, a female passenger died after suffering cardiac arrest on the train headed to Osaka from Tokyo.
An official at the Central Japan Railway Company, which operates the train, reportedly said the train halted after the emergency button was pushed.
The passenger apparently poured oil over his head before setting himself on fire, a transport ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
TBS television broadcast a video of passengers evacuating the smoke-filled coach, some coughing, others covering their faces with towels and handkerchiefs.
At least some 10 other passengers were injured, including two seriously, after the incident, which occurred around 11:30 a.m., the firefighters said. In 2014, two self-immolations which were acts of political protest took place. Police didn’t identify him or the woman who died.
The Japan Rail website states the bullet train has had no accidents resulting in passenger deaths since operations began in 1964.
Another passenger told a journalist he had spoken to the man moments before he set himself on fire.
Japan’s ultra-efficient shinkansen train network, inaugurated in 1964 as Tokyo readied to host the Olympic Games, now connects cities along the length and breadth of the country.
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An average of more than 400,000 passengers use the service daily, traveling at speeds of up to 300 km per hour, with around 300 trains running in both directions each day.
