Overview
- Police received an emergency call around 7:30 p.m. Friday after two trucks collided near Minakami in Gunma Prefecture, triggering a chain reaction.
- More than 50 vehicles were involved and several caught fire, with firefighters working about seven and a half hours to extinguish the blazes.
- The expressway remains closed in both directions between the Yuzawa and Tsukiyono interchanges as rescue, cleanup and forensic work continue.
- Preliminary figures indicate one fatality and at least 26 injured, including five in serious condition, though one outlet reported two deaths.
- Authorities note heavy snowfall and slick pavement at the time of the crash, and widely shared videos show the scale of the wreckage.