Police Are Investigating the Circumstances and Cause of the Accident

Tochigi Prefectural Police on Sunday raided an office of a Tobu Railway group company on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death in connection with a fatal accident in which a limited-express train struck four landscapers at a station on the Tobu Nikko Line last week. The raid targeted Tobu Kensetsu, a Nikko-based company that had been contracted by Tobu Railway to carry out weed-clearing work. Police are investigating the circumstances and cause of the accident.

The accident occurred around 10:45 a.m. Thursday at Shin-Kanuma Station. Four male workers in their 50s and 60s who were clearing weeds on the tracks were killed after being hit by the six-car Spacia X No. 2 limited-express train bound for Tokyo's Asakusa Station from Tobu-Nikko Station in Tochigi Prefecture. According to Tobu Railway, although workers were still on the railway tracks, the train driver said he had recognized a signal indicating that the workers had left the area. The company was raided on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death in connection with the accident that killed four workers last week.