Reports of a traffic jam on the Kanetsu Expressway connecting Tokyo and Niigata prefectures began to surface on Wednesday. By early Thursday morning, officials had closed the highway entrance to remove the overcrowded station.
Jam According to the country’s highway operator operator Nippon Expressway Company (NEXCO), a vehicle was stuck in the cold snow between the highways.
Heavy snow fell that morning in the central and northern regions of the country, disrupting transport and causing some communities to lose power.
Traffic built up on stalled highways; At its peak on Thursday night, the jam stretched for 15 kilometers (about 9.3 miles), Nexco told CNN. Some segments of the long traffic line were able to move slowly with start and stop, but some motorists remained stationary for more than 40 hours.
The jam continued until Friday; The lanes from Tokyo were finally cleared, but the roads to the capital were still blocked. By Friday afternoon, 1000 cars were still stuck.
The highway photo shows long lines of unmanned wing cars, with many snow-eyed gills trapped between the snow-covered fields above and around their vehicles.
There was some limited relief on Thursday when emergency responders passed rice balls, bread, crackers, snacks and 600 bottles of water as well as thousands of liters of gasoline and diesel oil.
But that was not enough, the drivers were stuck for many more hours in the cold.
A woman in her 30s and a man in her 60s were rushed to hospital in Jamthi on Thursday for shortness of breath and ause, according to Niigata’s emergency management officer, Susoshi Watanabe. No fatal or serious incident has been reported so far.
Watanabe added that the prefecture on Friday called for the deployment of Japan Self-Defense Forces to provide water, food, gasoline and portable toilets for those still stuck, and to help clear the ice.
Nexco is also warning drivers via social media and radio to be wary of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning while waiting in their cars for hours at a time.
Prime Minister Yoshihid Suga met with ministers to discuss the heavy snowfall, urging local officials to work together to restore services and help those affected, the NHK reported.
The story was updated to show that the traffic jam started on Wednesday.
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