Five killed in Japan as expressway tunnel ceiling collapses onto traffic
Charred bodies found inside burned cars after concrete panels fall onto expressway
Japanese rescuers found five charred bodies in an expressway tunnel that collapsed yesterday, crushing cars and triggering a blaze, and sparking fears of another cave-in.
At least seven people were missing inside the nearly five-kilometre-long tunnel. Witnesses spoke of terrifying scenes as at least one vehicle burst into flames, sending out clouds of blinding, acrid smoke.
Engineers warned that more debris could fall, which meant that for several hours rescuers were forced to suspend their efforts to reach those believed trapped under the more than one tonne of concrete ceiling panels that crashed from the roof.
Emergency crews sent to the Sasago tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Koshu city, 80 kilometres west of Tokyo, were hampered by smoke billowing from the entrance.
Dozens of people abandoned their vehicles on the Tokyo-bound section of the carriageway and ran for one of the emergency exits or for the mouth, where they huddled in bitter winter weather.
Emergency crews with breathing apparatus battled around a third of the way into the tunnel, where they found the 110 metres of concrete panels had crushed at least two vehicles.
Hours after the collapse, engineers warned the structure could be unstable, forcing rescuers to halt their work as a team of experts assessed the danger.