37 killed, 239 injured in Japan train crash

The death toll in Monday's train accident in western Japan has risen to 37, and at least 239 were injured, NHK reported.

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

The first carriage rammed into a building after the derailment. A NHK TV report shows 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.

The rescue works are now focused on the first carriage where some passengers are feared to still be trapped, according to the live TV report.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has urged railway operators to take precautions against such accidents. "They have to take precautions on a routine basis," he said. "I think it will take time to clear up the causes of it but we want solid measures to be taken to make sure this kind of incident never happens," Kyodo news quoted him as saying at his office.

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

This has been the most deadly train accident in Japan since 1991. A train tragedy occurred in western Japan on May 14, 1991, leading to 42 dead and 527 injured when two trains collided and derailed.

All those trains in the two accidents belong to the West Japan Railway Co. The company has made apology for Monday's accident.