Thirty-nine people have been sent to hospital after one of six passenger carriages derailed in northern Japan on Friday night, the local Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper said on Saturday.
Bound from the town of Kushiro to Sapporo, the Super Ozora express with 245 passengers onboard suddenly put the brakes on in a tunnel after the second carriage derailed. White smoke starting coming out of three carriages and a fire broke out. Passengers left the train and ran out of the tunnel.
But 39 people received inhalation burns and were rushed to hospital.
At the moment, the victims are out of danger. The fire was put out by Saturday morning. Police and the JR railway company operating the train are investigating the accident.
MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti)
