On May 21, in Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture, many investigators were on the scene.

They were inspecting what appeared to be steel beams on the ground using flashlights.

Just before 6 p.m., a call came into the fire department, saying, “Someone on the train is injured.”

Near Hino Station on the Nagano Electric Railway,
a collision occurred between a plastic greenhouse blown by strong winds and a train in motion.

Voice: Kitazawa Nanaka, TV Shinshu Reporter:

At the scene of the accident, police and others are conducting a search.

In this accident, a window on a three-car local train was shattered,
and three male passengers in their 50s to 60s were taken to the hospital.

The death of a 56-year-old company employee from Nagano City was confirmed at night. The cause of death is currently under investigation.

This is a photo taken from the platform of Suzaka Station.
The window glass of the train involved in the accident shows a large hole and visible cracks.

The accident occurred near Hino Station on the Nagano Electric Railway.

The surrounding area includes residential neighborhoods and rice fields.
According to the city and fire department, the train heading toward Nagano Station collided with a plastic greenhouse.

Due to the accident, the railway suspended operations
between Nagano Station and Suzaka Station for about two hours.

At Suzaka Station, staff were seen placing blue sheets over the train windows,
believed to be shattered in the accident.

There were also large cracks in the front windshield of the train.

Similar accidents involving strong winds and plastic greenhouses have happened in the past.

In August 2020, in the same prefecture, a Hokuriku Shinkansen train (Hakutaka No. 570), bound for Tokyo from Kanazawa, made an emergency stop after colliding with a plastic greenhouse that had blown onto the tracks.

It is believed that the plastic greenhouse was blown away by a gust of wind.

No one was injured in that incident, but the Hokuriku Shinkansen was suspended for more than six hours for removal work.

In Nagano City, a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 10.8 m/s was recorded.

A thunderstorm advisory was issued for a wide area, and in the evening, the Nagano Local Meteorological Observatory issued a tornado advisory for the northern part of the prefecture.

Police are currently investigating the detailed circumstances of the accident.