7 missing after tunnel collapse outside Tokyo

Police vehicles are parked at the entrance as smoke billows out of the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Koshu, Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, Sunday morning, Dec. 2, 2012. / AP Photo/Kyodo News

Updated Dec. 2, 2012, 12:28 AM ET

TOKYO At least seven people were feared missing after parts of a tunnel collapsed Sunday on a highway west of Tokyo, trapping vehicles as smoke from a fire inside initially prevented rescuers from approaching.

Video footage from cameras inside the tunnel, after the fire was extinguished, showed firefighters picking their way through cement roof panels that collapsed onto vehicles inside the Sasago Tunnel, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) outside the city. However, local media reported rescuers had suspended work out of fears of another collapse in the tunnel.

A woman who escaped from her rental car after it was trapped in the (2.5 mile) 4.3 kilometer-long tunnel told authorities that she was unsure about the condition of five other people who had been in the vehicle with her. Another two vehicles were known to be buried in the rubble, suggesting at least seven people were trapped inside, according to a statement by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

It said two people were confirmed injured, one of them moderately.

The cause in the collapse of about 330 feet (100 meters) of the tunnel was under investigation.

Police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances were massed outside the tunnel's entrance. A man who said he saw the collapse and alerted authorities to the emergency told NHK television he managed to escape after he was ordered to flee. The roof and windows of another vehicle parked on the roadside outside the tunnel were crushed, and the injured occupants reportedly taken to a hospital.

[MacPClinuxMIniMain]

I wonder of the tsunami quakes of yesteryear that caused the 3-nuclear reactors to melt down, are related to this collapse and if more of this is in the cards?

[LloydBonafide]

I was performing some analysis on this, and anyone with Liberty Mutual Insurance, or a subsidary company, Liberty Mutual Acquired, may be in trouble. I suggest you don't file a claim, it will likely be denied. Instead, open conversation with Craig Cunningham, Director of Risk Analysis by calling 617 654-4907

Liberty Mutual will find out who is responsible for this mishap, but claims processes and payments may be inaccurate or incomplete without a call to Mr. Cunningham's office. Also, if you recieve a set of replacement keys and title as part of the paperwork, SEND THEM BACK, because holiday accidents like this, are often exasperated by cost containment efforts.

[tektonjp]

"A man who said he saw the collapse and alerted authorities to the emergency managed to escape after he was ordered to flee."

What kind of sense does this sentence make? Why did he need to escape from authorities? After they told him to flee he managed to get away? Whaaat?

Thanks for the up to date report, but contact an editor before posting, please.

[kbbpll]

He alerted authorities after he was ordered to flee by authorities. It's pretty clear.

[kwes26]

Heres a link to an article that has obvious details this report is lacking:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20571218