Jun 16 (Kyodo) - The government has instructed West Japan Railway Co. to investigate why a driver of one of its bullet trains that hit and killed a man did not report any abnormal sound at the time, the transport minister said Friday.
A Nozomi shinkansen train bound for Tokyo hit a man, identified as a 52-year-old caregiver from Fukuoka Prefecture, between Hakata and Kokura stations in the southwestern Japanese prefecture at around 2 p.m. on Thursday.
An unoccupied minivehicle was found on a road near the elevated railway track, which was accessible by a ladder and staircase, and there were signs of someone had intruded on the tracks. Police believe the man committed suicide.
The train hit the man inside a tunnel in the city of Kitakyushu, about 17 kilometers from Kokura Station.
The bonnet of the train was cracked in the incident. None of the roughly 200 passengers was injured.
Source: ANNnewsCH
