Train crash in Japan kills 16

At least 16 were killed and 139 injured in a train derailment Monday in western Japan, NHK said.

The seven-carriage train with about 580 passengers aboard collided with a car at a junction at about 9:20 a.m.(0020 GMT) in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, with the first three carriages derailing.

The first carriage rammed into a building after the derailment. A NHK TV report showed the first carriage was seriously mangled, curving in the middle around the corner of the building, and the other two carriages lying across the track. The car was also badly deformed.

About 20 passengers were still trapped in the first carriage, it was reported.

The Japanese government has set up an emergent task force headed by Construction and Transport Minister Kazuo Kitagawan to conduct the rescue work.

Source: Xinhua