TOKYO: Japan yesterday launched a probe into the country’s worst train crash in four decades after rescue teams ended their search for survivors after pulling 106 bodies from the mangled carriages.
Some 300 police officers were inspecting the crash site in Amagasaki, Hyogo prefecture, 400km (250 miles) west of Tokyo, a Hyogo prefectural police official said.
The packed train, which was carrying some 580 passengers in the morning rush hour on Monday, appeared to be running at a speed of over 100km (62 miles) an hour, far above the speed limit of 70km.
The commuter train, which was run by West Japan Railway Co, hurtled from the tracks and smashed into an apartment block, flattening the front carriage to just seven meters from 20m (yards) on impact.
On Thursday, rescue workers recovered 10 more bodies, including the train’s 23-year-old driver Ryujiro Takami, from the wreckage, bringing the death toll to 106. More than 450 people were also injured in the crash.
There have been repeated allegations that Takami, who had only 11 months experience as a driver, had been speeding after falling a minute and a half late due to overrunning a station.
Takami is no longer alive to defend himself, but for some Japanese the tragedy has brought up an image of a young man in over his head at an important job.
“I didn’t know that such a young man can drive trains. It’s really scary,” said Hiroo Tsuchitani, a 56-year-old owner of a printing company located just meters (yards) away from the crash site in the western town of Amagasaki.
“How could so many people’s lives be left to such a man who was speeding recklessly?” Tsuchitani said.
Junko Iwabe, a 35-year-old housewife, said: “If I know such a young man is driving a train, I won’t take it.”
Japan’s corporate culture puts a strong emphasis on seniority, with workers expected to toil for long hours when they enter in their 20s and by the time of retirement enjoy job security and comfortable conditions.
Japan’s major liberal daily Asahi Shimbun said yesterday the Hyogo police would likely press criminal charges against management officials at West Railway for professional negligence resulting in death and injury.
JR West president Takeshi Kakiuchi and chairman Shojiro Nanya have both travelled to the scene of the crash to apologise to relatives of victims, with media reporting both to be on the verge of resigning to take responsibility. – AFP |
