TOKYO (Sputnik) – The accident occurred on Thursday morning in a tunnel on the San’yo Expressway in Hiroshima Prefecture, the Japanese NHK broadcaster said.
About 70 drivers and passengers were evacuated after 12 vehicles piled up in the tunnel following an initial collision, according to NHK, which cites local firefighters and police. Five of the vehicles caught fire.
According to NHK, at least 24 people were injured in the accident. The Japanese Kyodo news agency reports that over 60 people were wounded in the tunnel.
Police and firefighters are looking for people who might still be trapped inside the 840-meter (0.5-mile) — long tunnel.
