Train crash death toll now 103
2005-04-28 07:49
Amagasaki - The death toll in Japan's worst rail crash in decades rose to 103 after rescuers found six more bodies on Thursday, while the government said it may need to start certifying train drivers following suspicions that the inexperienced young man at the helm was speeding.
The toll was expected to rise further as rescuers reach bodies still trapped in the smashed metal shells of the train cars, which careened into an apartment house on Monday after hurtling off the rails in Amagasaki, about 410km west of Tokyo.
More than 450 people were injured.
Investigators suspect that the 23-year-old driver was speeding. Media reports said they believe the driver was going faster than 100km/h an hour, far above the speed limit on that stretch of track. Speculation was high that the driver - who was still unaccounted for - was trying to make up time after overrunning the last station and falling 90 seconds behind schedule.
Questions about driver
Transportation Minister Kazuo Kitagawa said the government was reviewing whether to take over the task of certifying train drivers and setting safety standards.
"I wonder if we should be leaving driver qualification to train operators," Kitagawa told reporters on Thursday. "Perhaps the government needs to be more actively involved in driver qualification and training."
Rescuers had not officially abandoned the search for survivors, though they believed a teenager extracted from the wreckage Tuesday morning was the last one alive.
Rescuers at the crash site in Amagasaki on Wednesday found a body seated at the front of the train believed to be driver Ryujiro Takami, but that hadn't been confirmed, the Kyodo news agency said. Police declined to comment.
Authorities probing the accident have searched the offices of the train's operator, West Japan Railway Co, over allegations of professional negligence. Investigators were also examining the train's "black box," a computer chip that stores information about the train's speed.
Takami got his train operator's license in May 2004. One month later, he overran a station and was issued a warning for his mistake, railway officials and police said.
JR West union officials on Thursday met with company executives to demand improved safety measures such as the installation of more advanced automatic braking systems along tracks to halt trains exceeding the speed limit.
Media reports have said the tracks where the accident occurred were equipped with an older automatic braking system that lacked the ability of newer models to stop trains travelling at high speeds.
Monday's accident was the worst rail disaster in nearly 42 years in this safety-conscious country.
- AP