Police search Tobu Railway group company over fatal express train accident
UTSUNOMIYA (Kyodo) -- Police searched a Tobu Railway Co. group company Sunday on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death following an
Police conducted a search of a Tobu Railway Co. subsidiary on Sunday, suspected of professional negligence leading to the death of four workers, following an accident north of Tokyo. The police believe the Tobu Kensetsu group company, located in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, failed to ensure worker safety through poor coordination.
The incident occurred at around 10:45 a.m. on Thursday at Shin-kanuma Station on the Tobu Nikko Line, when four workers were removing weeds from the tracks. At that time, a total of ten workers from various companies were engaged in the task, with seven working as weed-clearers and three serving as lookout personnel. One of the deceased was a site supervisor employed by Tobu Kensetsu.
According to Tobu Railway, railway workers are mandated to have a designated lookout to visually inspect approaching trains and warn them to vacate the tracks. Once the lookout confirms the tracks are clear, they signal the train driver via a flag. The train driver is obligated to acknowledge the signal by sounding the horn.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
