67-vehicle pileup claims two lives in Japan

A massive crash involving 67 vehicles in snowy weather killed two people and injured 26 on an expressway in Japan late on Friday as the country kicked off its end-of-year holiday season.

- 

The Gunma prefectural highway police said on Saturday that the pileup on the Kan-etsu Expressway started with a collision between two trucks in the town of Minakami, about 160 kilometres northwest of Tokyo.

The initial crash blocked parts of the expressway, and cars coming from behind them were unable to brake on the snowy surface.

A fire erupted at the far end of the pileup, spreading to 20 vehicles, some of which were completely burned. The fire was extinguished about seven hours later, police said.