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Japan has halted all its Shinkansen bullet trains running between Tokyo and Osaka, after one of the super express trains made an emergency stop south of Tokyo when white smoke was seen billowing out of one of the carriages following a man setting himself alight.
A spokesperson from Central Japan Railway Co. was quoted as telling local media, "We have been informed that there was a passenger in a car on the train who covered him with oil and set it on fire."
Japan's public broadcaster NHK has been broadcasting images of the shinkansen bullet train with white smoke billowing out of it and has said the one who set himself alight dead and another was in critical condition, adding at least 20 were injured, including two serious cases, in the incident.
Local agencies on the scene also quoted firefighters as saying that they fear that there may have been "multiple fatalities."
According to another spokesperson from Central Japan Railway Co. , the train was stopped between Yokohama and Odawara stations, as smoke was seen coming out of the first carriage and firefighters were called to the scene where it appears from TV images that numerous passengers may have been injured, as they were seen being helped from the train holding handkerchiefs to their mouths and clutching their chests, possibly due to the effects of smoke inhalation or burns.
One passenger was seen desperately try to distance herself from the smoldering train, clutching a young baby.
The incident happened some time after 11:30 a.m. local time as the train was traveling between the two coastal towns just outside of Tokyo. The trains are known to hit speeds of up to 320 km/h.
No official comment has been given by the firefighters on the scene about the number of fatalities or the exact numbers of those injured by the self-immolation.
