Two people died and more than a dozen were injured when a man set himself on fire aboard one of Japan’s high-speed bullet trains on Tuesday, officials said. A passenger poured oil and set himself or herself on fire, causing fire and smoke in the vehicle.
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The JR Tokai official said the train stopped after the emergency button was pushed and the passenger was then discovered.
Several other passengers were hurt after the man doused himself in flammable liquid and sparked a cigarette lighter at the front of the train as it hurtled through the countryside around 70 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of Tokyo.
ODAWARA CITY, JAPAN (AVN/NHK/CNN) – Two people are dead after a fire broke out on bullet train in Japan.
“Other passengers were also injured”, he said, adding that two were in a serious condition.
The woman who died was found at the other end of the carriage, according to the BBC report.
He said the second person appeared collapsed in the area between first and second card. Authorities confirmed her death.
Some passengers tell NHK that an explosion was heard in the bathroom of the vehicle where the fire occurred. The office will also be used to mobilise the police and the Self Defense Force to conduct relief and rescue operations, if needed.
Despite the huge volume of passengers it serves, the network operates with an enviable punctuality rate.
The high speed network is thought to be the most efficient and safest in the world, with no fatalities from crashes in its half-century of service.
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The train was traveling from Tokyo to Osaka, according to Yahoo. The passengers were kept on board until about 2 p.m. before being taken to nearby Odawara Station to disembark.
