67 Vehicles Trapped by Heavy Snow: Massive Chain-Reaction Crash on Japanese Expressway

Chain-Reaction Crash Triggered by Skidding Truck
Firefighting Efforts Took Over Seven Hours
Twenty Vehicles Completely Destroyed by Flames
Two Dead, Including a 77-Year-Old Woman; 26 Injured
Full Traffic Blockade and Prolonged Restoration Expected in Accident Zone

A massive chain-reaction collision involving 67 vehicles occurred on a highway in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, due to heavy snowfall and icy road conditions. The accident resulted in two deaths and 26 injuries, and a fire that broke out immediately after the crash completely destroyed 20 vehicles.

A 67-car pileup occurred on the expressway in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Kyodo News YouTube.

According to local media outlets such as Kyodo News and Mainichi Shimbun on December 27, the accident began around 7:30 p.m. the previous day on the Kan-Etsu Expressway in Minakami City, Gunma Prefecture. Amid heavy snowfall that left the road surface frozen, a large truck skidded and struck the central divider, and the vehicles following behind were unable to slow down, resulting in a massive accident scene stretching over a 300-meter section.

The aftermath was devastating. Flames erupted in succession immediately after the collision, completely burning 20 vehicles, and it took the fire department over seven hours to extinguish the blaze. During this process, the truck driver and a 77-year-old woman who was sitting in the back seat of a passenger car lost their lives. Of the 26 injured, five were seriously hurt, raising concerns that the casualty count could increase further.

At the time of the accident, a speed reduction order to 50 km/h had been issued for the road due to the heavy snowfall. The truck driver in his 60s who caused the accident stated, "I tried to avoid the car in front, but the road was so icy that I had no control over the steering wheel." Local police are focusing on road surface freezing (black ice) as the likely decisive cause and are investigating the exact circumstances of the incident.

Currently, all traffic is completely blocked in the affected section, and as restoration work is expected to take considerable time, travelers during the year-end period are likely to continue experiencing inconvenience.