Japan probes possible safety monitoring flaws after four workers die
Japanese investigators are examining whether inadequate safety monitoring and communication problems may have played a role in an accident at Shin-Kanuma Station in Tochigi Prefecture, where four workers died. The workers, who were clearing weeds from the tracks, were struck by the Spacia X express train on August 20, The Japan Times reports.
Accident circumstances
The accident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. at Shin-Kanuma Station on Tobu Railway's Nikko Line in the city of Kanuma. The deceased were employees of Tobu Construction, a company affiliated with Tobu Railway, and a subcontractor.
According to Tochigi Prefectural Police and the Japan Transport Safety Board under the Ministry of Transport, seven workers were on the tracks when the train entered the station. Three of them climbed onto the platform after noticing the train, while four died.
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Signals and communication
A total of 10 people were assigned to the work. Seven of them began clearing the tracks at about 10:00 a.m. Three more employees of a security company were to serve as train-movement monitors: one was stationed near the station, while the other two were near railway crossings about 300 meters away.
Under the rules, the monitor near the station receives signals from the monitors at the crossings by radio or flags, warns the workers and signals the train driver. After the workers are evacuated, the monitor must show the driver a horizontally held yellow flag, or a red flag if safety has not been confirmed.
Tobu Railway said the driver of the Spacia X saw a yellow flag about 200 meters before the station. One of the monitors at a crossing said he was unable to contact the monitor near the station. The detailed circumstances of their actions are still being established. Police are voluntarily questioning the monitors and searching Tobu Construction in a case involving suspected professional negligence resulting in death.
