TOKYO (Reuters) - At least 34 people were injured, one critically, on Thursday when an express train and truck collided in Japan's second-largest city of Yokohama, setting the truck on fire and derailing nearly half the train.
The accident on the rail link to the capital, Tokyo, smashed the glass in the driver's compartment and derailed at least the first three carriages of the eight-carriage train, video images showed.
"The sound of glass breaking was incredible," one passenger told national broadcaster NHK. "By the time I knew what had happened, the carriage was all smashed up."
The truck driver, a man in his 60s, was critically injured, the fire department said, with two other people suffered moderate injuries and the remainder were mostly lightly hurt.
Earlier, black smoke billowed from parts of the derailed train and the truck, which was crushed between the train and a wall. Smashed boxes and what appeared to be oranges littered the track as rescuers combed the site.
Authorities, including the transport ministry, said they were investigating the cause of the accident but were unable to provide further details. Police confirmed a collision between a vehicle and the train, but could not elaborate, citing the investigation.
Some passengers posted video on social media showing people getting off the train after the accident, a twisted electrical pole and train seats covered with broken glass.
The accident, which halted trains stopped on the commuter link run by Keikyu Corp, took place near a station used by more than 19,000 people every day, the train operator said. There was no word on when services might resume.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Writing by Chang-ran Kim and Elaine Lies; Editing by David Dolan and Clarence Fernandez)