Japan – Blizzard hits highway, 134 cars in crashes; one dead

TOKYO (JAPAN) – A blizzard struck a stretch of highway in Japan has led to a series of car crashes, injuries and a death.

At least 134 cars were involved in a series of crash that occurred on the Tohoku Expressway on Tuesday. The mishap occurred around noon when on a stretch of road about 1 km (half a mile) long, the government said.

Despite a speed limit of 50 kph (31 mph), around 200 people were caught up in the crashes out of which12 were sent to hospital, the disaster management agency said.

Rescue operations were under way, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters.