Railway officials offered prayers Saturday for 107 victims of a train derailment 15 years ago in the western Japan city of Amagasaki as a memorial service was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
West Japan Railway Co. President Kazuaki Hasegawa laid flowers at a memorial built at the accident site in 2018 for mourners to pray for the dead. Last year's memorial service was attended by over 500 survivors and family members of the victims.
(West Japan Railway Co. President Kazuaki Hasegawa(C))
[Pool photo]
"We will continue to make improvements in our efforts to ensure safe operations as we deeply reflect on the accident and keep the important lessons from it in mind," Hasegawa told reporters.
On April 25, 2005, a rush-hour commuter train on the JR Fukuchiyama Line derailed and crashed into a condominium building after entering a curved section of track traveling well in excess of its maximum permitted speed, killing 106 passengers and the driver and injuring 562 people.
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