JR East Co． President Mutsutake Otsuka (left) on Dec. 27 prays for the victims of the Dec. 25 accident of Inaho express train that derailed in Shonai、Yamagata Prefecture．

All six cars of the Inaho No. 14 express, which was heading to Niigata from Akita on Dec. 25, derailed just after it had crossed a bridge over the Mogami River, where it was buffeted by an extremely strong crosswind. The first three cars overturned in the crash.

Two of the dead were women, identified as Yuki Hatakeyama, 51, from the city of Akita, and Mayumi Ukibe, a 22-year-old nursery worker from Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture.

There were 44 passengers and two crew members on the train when the accident occurred at around 7:15 p.m. between Sagoshi and Kita- Amarume stations on East Japan Railway Co.'s Uetsu Line.

The police quoted the 29-year-old train driver, who was one of those injured, as saying, "The train floated when it was hit by sudden winds." The train conductor was quoted as saying, "I felt an impact shock on my back soon after the train crossed the bridge, and then the lights in the train went out and the train stopped suddenly."

A severe snowstorm warning had been issued in the area and a maximum wind speed of 78 kph had been registered in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, about 6 km from the accident site, shortly before the derailment. JR East Niigata branch did not reduce the train's speed as the maximum wind speed at the accident site at the time of the derailment was about 72 kph, within the operating limit.

JR East said there was a report that the train driver applied the brakes after hearing an unusual sound. Due to the snow, the train was more than one hour behind schedule.

JR East President Mutsutake Otsuka apologized for the accident at a Dec. 26 media conference at the company's Tokyo headquarters and said he would be visiting the accident site.

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry sent members of its Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Committee the same day, while the Yamagata Prefectural Police set up an investigation headquarters.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 31, 2005
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