Overview
- Police say the chain reaction began when two trucks crashed on a snowy stretch near Minakami about 160 kilometers northwest of Tokyo.
- More than 50 vehicles were caught in the pileup as drivers skidded on ice and could not brake in time.
- A fire at the far end of the wreck burned over a dozen vehicles and was extinguished after roughly seven hours, with no additional injuries.
- The victim was a 77-year-old woman from Tokyo, and five of the 26 injured remain in serious condition, according to authorities.
- The Kan-etsu Expressway is shut in both directions between the Yuzawa and Tsukiyono interchanges for investigation and cleanup, with no reopening time announced.