Fireworks display ends in tragedy

Some of the injured were tended at the scene

At least 10 people have been killed, most of them children, in a crush of people leaving a fireworks display in the western Japanese city of Akashi.

A two-year-old child and a 71-year-old woman were among the dead, and as many as 100 people are reported to have been injured, some seriously.

"I thought I was going to die," said one youth

The deaths occurred when a pedestrian overpass near a train station became severely overcrowded.

The 100-metre (328-foot) bridge is the only way from the station to the beach, where crowds had gathered to watch the fireworks display.

The national broadcaster NHK reported that the bridge was packed with people and it became more and more difficult for them to breathe.

"As soon as the fireworks ended, many people started pushing, and people started getting angry and yelling at each other," a youth told NHK.

"The woman next to me fell, and I landed on top of her. She was having trouble breathing. I was so scared, I thought I was going to die."

Trains home

The crowds were aiming to board trains to return home at the conclusion of a summer festival attended by 130,000 people.

The BBC's Charles Scanlon in Tokyo says that some people began to leave the festival while others were still arriving and the two groups filled the bridge.

He says that some people managed to jump to safety.

Some of the injured are being treated at emergency tents set up at the scene, while others have been taken to nearby hospitals.