Train derails, car explodes after collision on railroad crossing in C. Japan

A collision between a train on the JR Tokaido Line at a railroad crossing and a passenger vehicle on Thursday morning in Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture, left the driver of the car dead and some of the passengers on the derailed train needing hospital treatment, local media reported.

The 6-car train, traveling in rainy conditions to Toyohashi in Aichi Prefecture, from Gifu, also in the Chubu region of central Japan, collided with the car, which caused the first car of the train to derail and sent the passenger car slamming into a utility pole where it exploded on impact, local reports said.

The man driving the car was pronounced dead at the scene, police officials investigating the accident said, while of the 280 passengers traveling on the train, at least four needed to be treated in hospital for their injuries.

The 27-year-old train operator said that he saw the oncoming car enter the crossing after the barriers had been lowered, but that it was impossible to brake in time to avoid the collision.

"I saw a passenger car approaching the railroad crossing with the barriers down, I applied the brake, but I could not stop in time," the train's driver was quoted as saying.

Passengers were escorted from the derailed train to a nearby station by bus, local officials said.

A security camera in the vicinity of the railroad crossing captured the moment the accident occurred and showed the car bursting into flames following the collision.

According to a passenger on the train, there was a sudden jolt, followed by a loud bang. Residents near the railroad crossing said they could feel their homes shake from the train's impact with the car and subsequent explosion.

The National Transportation Safety Commission on Thursday said it had dispatched two investigators to the scene to gather more information on the cause of the fatal collision. Endit