Four dead in Japan train crash

The force of the crash ripped open this carriage

Four people have died and at least 31 injured in a rush-hour train crash in Tokyo on Wednesday morning.

The rear coach of an underground train derailed just outside Nakameguro station in the Japanese capital's southern suburbs, and an oncoming train smashed into it.

Two people died at the scene of the crash, while two victims died of serious injuries in hospital.

The side of one carriage was almost completely torn off in the crash.

"Our train came to a sudden halt after a loud rattling," said a commuter who had been on a derailed train.

Rescuers escort a wounded passenger to safety

"Then I saw on the train opposite us that there were people lying on the floor of one carriage and there was lots of blood."

People in the worst affected carriage smashed the windows and helped each other to escape.

"I saw a huge lump of metal penetrating my carriage, and everybody was panicking," a commuter told NHK television. "Many passengers were collapsing."

Most of the injured were on the derailed train, which had about 1,300 people on board.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but early reports of an explosion have been discounted.

Investigators told the French news agency AFP they had found a ruptured air spring, critical for stability, in the derailed train. But it was not yet clear whether the spring had been damaged before the accident.

Haircut

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has set up an emergency task force to investigate the cause of the collision.

The cause of the accident is still unknown

But questions are being asked about the prime minister's attitude, after a local news agency reported that he had kept a haircut appointment after news of the crash emerged.

BBC Tokyo correspondent Juliet Hindell says the Japanese public have been nervous about the safety of the subway since the Sarin gas attack on Tokyo trains in 1995.

Then, the Aum cult released gas on rush hour trains, killing 12 people.

Service soon resumed on some parts of the underground line, but throughout the morning tens of thousands of passengers were directed to use other trains or buses to get to work.

The accident was believed to be the worst in Tokyo since an out-of-service train and a 12-carriage express collided, injuring 32 people, in October 1997.