Japan train hits truck, mounts platform: police

Tokyo, Feb 12 (AFP) A passenger train hit a truck at a level crossing in Japan today, police said, with footage and reports from the scene showing it had mounted a station platform. A picture published by the Yomiuri Shimbun showed a carriage half-on a platform in Hyogo prefecture. A spokesman for the local police confirmed the accident and said the injury toll of 16 may rise. "A train and a trailer collided at a crossing near Arai station on the Sanyo line in Takasago city at around 3:50 pm (0650 GMT)," a spokesman said. "Sixteen people including the drivers of the truck and the train were injured. There is a possibility that the number of injured will increase. We don't know if any of them was seriously hurt." The Yomiuri said the driver of the train was badly injured in the accident in which the first and second carriages of the six-car train jumped the tracks, moving around 200 metres before coming to a halt at the end of a station platform. The accident occurred some 800 metres from the municipal office. "According to people in the neighbourhood, the trailer stalled at the crossing and the express train crashed into it," the paper said.(AFP) BOD 02121547 NNNN