Tour Bus Accident Northwest Of Tokyo Kills 7, Injures 39

[News_Editor]

Tour bus accident northwest of Tokyo kills 7, injures 39 < br /> 2012-04-30 03:26:05 GMT+7 (ICT) TOKYO, JAPAN (BNO NEWS) -- A tour bus carrying dozens of tourists heading for Disneyland near the Japanese capital of Tokyo crashed into a wall along an expressway on early Sunday morning, killing seven people and injuring many more, police said.The accident happened at around 4:40 a.m. local time when the bus slammed into a 3-meter (9.8-feet) high wall on the Kanetsu Expressway in Fujioka of Gunma Prefecture, about 85 kilometers (52 miles) northwest of Tokyo. Video from the scene showed the vehicle crashed into a roadside wall at the beginning of a small overpass, slicing most of the bus in half.Gunma prefectural police said the bus, which was owned by bus company Hariu Express and was carrying the bus driver and 45 Japanese passengers, had left the city of Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture at around 10 p.m. local time on Saturday. There was no relief driver on board.Officials confirmed seven passengers were killed, including six young women and one middle-aged man. Everyone else on board the bus, including the bus driver and the 38 remaining passengers, were injured in the accident. At least thirteen of the injured passengers sustained serious injuries.Most of the passengers on board the bus were going to Tokyo Disneyland.Investigators said no tire marks were found at the scene, and 43-year-old bus driver Kazan Kono admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel. Police plan to question Kono on suspicion of manslaughter caused by negligent driving, but no charges were immediately filed.

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