TOKYO: A sudden explosion from a suspected gas leak blew out walls and windows in part of a northern Japanese town Thursday morning, killing one person and injuring 17 others.
There was no sign of a fire and investigators at the suspect a gas leak may have cause the blast, Koriyama fire department official Hiroki Ogawa said. Local media say a gas leak and explosion occurred at a restaurant.
So far, one person was confirmed dead and 17 others have been taken to hospitals. Two of them were seriously injured, Ogawa said.
The area has been closed off and neighbors have been evacuated.
NHK footage showed only a skeleton left of a building, the steel structure gnawed and pieces of wall and glass scattered around. Several employees and customers at a nearby bank were injured, NHK said.
The explosion occurred in a crowded business and commercial district close to the city’s main train station, where hospitals, schools and the city hall are also located.
“I heard a ‘boom!’ and felt the ground shaking, so I thought it was an earthquake, but the shaking didn’t last very long so I realized it wasn’t,” an employee at nearby Kuwano Kyoritsu Hospital told NHK. Nobody was injured at the hospital, although some of its windows were shattered.
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Suspected gas leak in northern Japan kills 1, injures 17
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Suspected gas leak in northern Japan kills 1, injures 17
- The cause of the explosion is still unknown
Death toll from heavy Japan snow hits 30
TOKYO: Unusually heavy snow in Japan has been blamed for 30 deaths in the past two weeks, officials said Tuesday, including a 91-year-old woman found under a three-meter pile outside her home.
The central government has deployed troops to help residents in Aomori, the heaviest-hit region where as much as 4.5 meters (15 feet) of snow remains on the ground in remote areas.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a special cabinet-level meeting on Tuesday morning to instruct ministers to do all they can to prevent deaths and accidents.
A powerful cold air mass has resulted in heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast in recent weeks, with some areas seeing more than double the usual volumes.
Since January 20 through Tuesday, 30 people have died as a result of the heavy snow, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Among them was Kina Jin, 91, whose body was found under a pile of snow at her home in Ajigasawa, Aomori, a local police official told AFP on a condition of anonymity.
Police believe snow from her rooftop fell on her. The cause of her death was suffocation, the official said. An aluminum shovel was found next to her body.
“As it gets warmer, the accumulated snow melts and falls. It depends on the volume (of snow) and the temperature. Under the rooftop is a dangerous place,” the official told AFP.
Aomori governor Soichiro Miyashita said on Monday he had asked Japan’s military to offer disaster relief.
He said he asked troops to help the region’s elderly who live alone and need help clearing snow.
Walls of snow as high as 1.8 meters are on the ground of the regional capital of Aomori city, the governor said, adding that local workers clearing snow from roads and houses were overwhelmed.
“The danger of life-threatening incidents, such as fatal accidents due to falling snow from the roofs or collapsing buildings, is imminent,” he said in the press conference.
The central government has deployed troops to help residents in Aomori, the heaviest-hit region where as much as 4.5 meters (15 feet) of snow remains on the ground in remote areas.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a special cabinet-level meeting on Tuesday morning to instruct ministers to do all they can to prevent deaths and accidents.
A powerful cold air mass has resulted in heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast in recent weeks, with some areas seeing more than double the usual volumes.
Since January 20 through Tuesday, 30 people have died as a result of the heavy snow, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Among them was Kina Jin, 91, whose body was found under a pile of snow at her home in Ajigasawa, Aomori, a local police official told AFP on a condition of anonymity.
Police believe snow from her rooftop fell on her. The cause of her death was suffocation, the official said. An aluminum shovel was found next to her body.
“As it gets warmer, the accumulated snow melts and falls. It depends on the volume (of snow) and the temperature. Under the rooftop is a dangerous place,” the official told AFP.
Aomori governor Soichiro Miyashita said on Monday he had asked Japan’s military to offer disaster relief.
He said he asked troops to help the region’s elderly who live alone and need help clearing snow.
Walls of snow as high as 1.8 meters are on the ground of the regional capital of Aomori city, the governor said, adding that local workers clearing snow from roads and houses were overwhelmed.
“The danger of life-threatening incidents, such as fatal accidents due to falling snow from the roofs or collapsing buildings, is imminent,” he said in the press conference.
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