2 sent to hospital in Japan after explosion occurs near halted bullet train

TOKYO: Two people were sent to hospital on Tuesday afternoon following an explosion near the area where a Shinkansen bullet train was halted in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, local media reported.

Local authorities are checking whether the blast was related to work on restoring bullet train services between Tokyo and stations in eastern and central Japan that were suspended earlier due to a power outage, Kyodo News said, citing investigative sources.

A total of three Shinkansen lines were brought to a halt from around 10:00 a.m. local time between Tokyo to Sendai, Tokyo to Niigata, and Tokyo to Nagano, according to the operator East Japan Railway Company.

The company said that an overhead electrical wire was found hanging down over the Shinkansen tracks in one location in Saitama, impeding the train services.

Workers have been sent to the site for inspections, but operations are unlikely to resume anytime soon, the company added.

-Xinhua