Over 100 die in worst train crash in 40 years
April 25, 2005
A total of 107 people were killed and more than 500 people were injured when a train on the West Japan Railway Co.'s Takarazuka Line derailed and slammed into an apartment building on April 25, 2005. The crash, which was caused by the train trying to take a curve too quickly, was the deadliest in Japan in four decades.
The interior of the derailed railway car on the Takarazuka Line was severely mangled after it crashed into an apartment building on April 25, 2005. The accident occurred during the morning rush hour and many of the passengers killed were university students. The driver of the train also died.
Rescue workers search for survivors after the 2005 accident. Rescue work continued for four days.
A train car embedded in the apartment building after the derailment. The cars were twisted in different directions after the train tried to take a curve too quickly, according to a later investigation.
Masao Yamazaki enters Kobe District Court on Jan. 11, 2012. Yamazaki became president of West Japan Railway Co. in February 2006 after his predecessor resigned to take responsibility for the accident. Yamazaki was indicted for professional negligence resulting in death because he was the senior executive in charge of train operations when the company failed to install safety equipment at the site of the accident. Yamazaki was found not guilty of the charge.
