Power cut strands 30,000 at Japan’s Osaka expo, sparks calls for better crisis planning
Some attendees ended up sleeping at the venue after failing to leave the site, with pavilions opened up to provide food and shelter
Services on the Chuo Line, the only direct route to Yumeshima, the artificial island that hosts the expo, were halted at 9.30pm – 30 minutes before closing time – because of an electrical failure, Kyodo news agency reported.
While the Osaka Metro partially restored the service before midnight, Yumeshima was so overwhelmed with people trying to leave via the station that entry was temporarily restricted, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
Visitors were encouraged to use other public transport or stay inside the venue.
One man from Saitama prefecture ended up waiting for a taxi after not being able to catch the train at the station. “We were packed in like sardines,” he told the Asahi Shimbun, adding that it was so hot that some people fainted. “Visitors need more information. There is no crisis management at all.”