MAEBASHI (Japan), Dec 27 — A devastating accident unfolded yesterday evening in Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, as more than 50 vehicles became entangled in a massive pileup on the outbound lane of the Kan-etsu Expressway in Minakami. 

According to Kyodo News, the incident, which occurred around 7.30pm, resulted in two fatalities and 26 injuries, five of which were reported as serious, according to local police.

Authorities believe the crash was triggered when vehicles skidded on an icy road surface as snow fell, causing hazardous driving conditions. 

The initial collision involved a truck crashing into another truck that had stopped following a single-vehicle accident. 

This led to a chain reaction of collisions stretching approximately 300 metres along the expressway.

The severity of the pileup was compounded when at least ten vehicles caught fire, requiring more than seven hours for emergency crews to extinguish the flames. 

Among the victims was a 77-year-old woman from Tokyo, who was traveling in the rear seat of a family car. 

Another fatality was discovered in the driver’s seat of a large truck. 

Twenty-one individuals sustained minor injuries.

In the aftermath, a section of the expressway was closed, with a line of badly damaged vehicles—some charred beyond recognition—blocking the outbound lane. 

At the time of the accident, drivers had been instructed to reduce their speed to 50 kilometres per hour due to the snowy conditions.

One driver in his 60s recounted his experience, stating that his truck struck the median after he swerved to avoid a car ahead. 

He reported hearing four explosions behind him and described the difficulty of steering on the icy road, expressing that he feared for his life.