7 worked on railway tracks right before train hit 4 in accident near Tokyo
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Four workers were on the tracks removing weeds when they were struck by an express train on Aug 20.
PHOTO: YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
- Seven workers were on railway tracks before an express train fatally hit four of them near Tokyo on Aug 20.
- Three workers, including the leader, escaped death by climbing onto the platform; the platform had no refuge space beneath the edge.
- Police suspect professional negligence and are investigating communication methods used by workers during the accident at Shin-kanuma Station.
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TOKYO – Seven people were working on railway tracks immediately before an express train hit four of them in a fatal accident at a station north of Tokyo, investigative sources said on Aug 26.
The remaining three, including a work leader, escaped death, some by climbing onto the platform, at Shin-kanuma Station on the Tobu Nikko Line in Tochigi Prefecture, according to the sources.
Police have been investigating how workers at the site communicated by using flags, radios and train schedules at the time of the accident on Aug 20. They suspect it was a case of professional negligence leading to deaths.
Since the seven workers were spread across the accident site before the Spacia X train came in, some of them appear to have noticed the approaching train earlier than the others, according to the sources.
The platform had no space to take refuge beneath the edge. Of the four victims in their 50s and 60s, three were trapped under the train while one was found on the platform. KYODO NEWS
