Japan: 'Bodies Found' After Tunnel Collapse

Police have seen several bodies in a car inside a highway tunnel that collapsed in central Japan, reports say.

The Sasago tunnel on the busy Chuo Expressway, about 80-km (50 miles) west from Tokyo, caved in just after 8am local time, sending debris crashing down on cars and triggering a fire.

Seven people were believed to be missing and two were injured, the fire service said.

At least two cars were thought to be trapped.

Motorists described narrow escapes from falling debris, and a long walk through the darkness after abandoning their cars.

"When I was driving in the tunnel, concrete pieces fell down suddenly from the ceiling," a man in his 30s told public broadcaster NHK.

"I saw a crushed car catching fire. I was rightened, left my car and walked for about an hour to get out of the tunnel."

CCTV footage of inside of the tunnel

Footage showed black smoke billowing from the 4.7-km (2.8-mile) tunnel in Yamanashi prefecture.

After the fire was extinguished about 11am, video footage from cameras inside the tunnel showed firefighters picking their way through cement roof panels that collapsed onto vehicles inside the tunnel.

NHK reporter Yoshio Goto, caught in Sunday's accident, hit the accelerator and managed to drive out.

"But it was a bit too late and pieces of ceiling fell on my car. I kept pressing the pedal and managed to get out," he said.

"Then when I looked around, I saw half of the car ceiling was crushed."

It was the worst such accident in Japan since 1996, when a tunnel collapsed and falling rocks crushed cars and a bus, killing 20 people.

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