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Japan bullet train fire: Two found unconscious after passenger tries to set himself alight Japan bullet train fire: Two dead and several injured after man sets himself alight
(about 4 hours later)
A passenger on one of Japan's high-speed bullet trains tried to set himself on fire Tuesday, causing smoke to fill the carriage and forcing the train to stop, Japan's transport ministry said. Two people have died after a man set fire to himself while on board a Japanese high-speed bullet train.
Two people were found unconscious, a ministry official said. Japanese media reported that at least one had died, but that could not be immediately confirmed. Officials from Central Japan Railway have said the man died after pouring what appeared to be oil over his head before setting himself on fire with a lighter.
The train came to an emergency stop when a passenger pressed an emergency button after finding one of the two passengers collapsed on the floor on a front car deck near a restroom, according to the ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy. The man was sitting in the first carriage of the Shinkansen bullet train travelling from Tokyo to Osaka art the time of the incident. The carriage reportedly filled with smoke, injuring several other passengers.
The incident occurred as the train passed near Odawara city, west of Tokyo, on its way to Osaka. The train stopped between stations at around 11.30am local time when a passenger pushed the emergency stop button after seeing the man collapsed on the floor outside the toilet.
The passenger apparently had poured oil over his head before setting themselves on fire, the official said. A woman who was found at the opposite end of the carriage has also died. Fire officials reported at least nine other people as injured, one seriously, mostly suffering from smoke inhalation.
He said the second person was found collapsed in an area between the first and second cars. Local television crews captured the train filled with white smoke and people being removed from the train on stretchers by emergency services.
Public television NHK said dozens of passengers were injured after inhaling smoke. Local media reported that the driver attempted to put of the fire. Emergency services evacuated the train and all high-speed services between Tokyo and Osaka have been stopped. The train remained stationary, where it halted outside of Odawara city, for three hours.
The fire has been extinguished, and passengers were evacuated from the train, NHK said. The Shinkansen is a network of Japanese high-speed railway lines which began in 1964. The network now spans over 1,600 miles and the trains have a maximum speed of 200 mph. Bullet trains have not recorded a single fatality since it opened more than 50 years ago.
AP Passengers from the high-speed train from Toyko to Osaka receive emergency treatment
Japan’s transport minister said the victims were in a state of “cardiopulmonary arrest,” the term used before official confirmation.
No motive has been suggested for the incident and the man’s death is being treated as a suicide.
Suicide in Japan is the leading cause of death among men aged 20 to 44 and the country has the highest rate of suicide in the world.