There are no comments.
A Japanese bus operator whose vehicle plunged off a mountain road, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more, is suspected by officials of violating safety regulations, local media reported yesterday.
Young skiers — many in their teens or early 20s — were asleep on the bus when it careened off the road before dawn in the ski resort town of Karuizawa on Friday, the country’s worst such accident for 25 years.
Twelve students aged between 19 and 22 as well as the driver and a second driver were all killed, and 26 others injured.
Police are investigating bus operator ESP and Keyth Tour, a Tokyo travel agency which organised the ski package tour, but authorities have yet to announce the cause of the accident.
Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii yesterday visited the site, from where the wrecked vehicle had already been removed, with the gnarled crash barrier still showing the impact of the collision.
Police suspect the driver lost control as he tried to make a sharp turn after the bus hit the barrier, according to broadcaster NHK.
But the Transport Ministry suspects the bus company may have violated safety regulations — by failing to give the driver written instructions on what route to take — according to the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Mainichi Shimbun newspapers.
One expert quoted by the Yomiuri also suggested the bus operator may be at fault.
“I suspect the bus operating company’s negligent safety management could be behind the accident,” said Hajime Tozaki, professor of public transport policy at Waseda University. The accident occurred only days after authorities imposed penalties on the company for failing to give required medical checkups to some drivers.
The operator did not immediately comment but the travel agency boss denied the company neglected safety standards and promised to help bereaved families.
But Tomokazu Abe, whose daughter Marie, a 22-year-old student who was among the victims, hit out at the agency.
“They didn’t contact us and I have called but no one answered,” he told reporters. “I can’t trust them. I can’t feel their sincerity.”
Rules governing the working conditions for long-distance bus drivers were tightened after an April 2012 accident left seven people dead.
That bus hit a wall after its driver dozed off at the wheel. Many passengers were on their way to visit the Tokyo Disney Resort.
There are no comments.
Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.