Snow-caused gridlock in central Japan resolved

February 9, 2018

Fukui- A heavy snow-caused major gridlock on National Route 8 in Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures in the Hokuriku region of central Japan was resolved in the small hours of Friday.

While two large trucks remain stalled in the city of Awara in Fukui, all other stranded vehicles have started moving, according to the transport ministry's national road office in Fukui.

A 27-kilometer section between the Ishikawa city of Kaga and the city of Fukui, the capital of Fukui Prefecture, has been closed to traffic. Now that the gridlock was resolved, the road office will reopen the closed section after clearing snow and releasing a de-icing agent.

The gridlock started on Tuesday morning and involved as many as about 1,500 vehicles at its peak.

Staff officials of the transport ministry and Ground Self-Defense Force troops worked to remove snow. Fuel was supplied to stranded vehicles, and relevant local governments distributed foods and drinks to affected people.

Four stranded people were sent to hospital between Tuesday and Thursday, according to the Fukui prefectural government and a local firefighting unit in the city of Sakai in the prefecture.

By 4 p.m. Thursday, a total of 42 people in their 10s to 60s visited aid stations set up by the prefectural government. None of them was found to have had major health problems.

According to the Fukui prefectural government and other sources, a total of three men died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside vehicles stuck in snow in Awara and the city of Fukui on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jiji Press