Victims Remembered on 12th Anniv. of Sasago Tunnel Disaster

   Otsuki, Yamanashi Pref., Dec. 2 (Jiji Press)--Bereaved relatives and others mourned on Monday the nine victims of the December 2012 partial collapse of a tunnel on an expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan.
   They offered silent prayers and flowers for the victims at a memorial ceremony held near the Sasago Tunnel at 8:03 a.m., when the disaster occurred 12 years ago. "My pain and regrets are getting stronger year after year, no matter how many years pass," one of the relatives said.
   The ceremony, held by Central Nippon Expressway Co., or Nexco Central, which manages the tunnel on the Chuo Expressway, was attended by some 60 people, including executives of the company and officials of the Japanese transport ministry as well as people who lost their loved ones.
   "Without letting the memories and the lessons fade away, we will work on the permanent challenge of improving the safety of expressways," Nexco Central President Tadashi Nawata said at the ceremony.
   "We have been asking the company (since the disaster) to fulfill its accountability for the truth," Shinichi Ishikawa, 75, who lost his daughter, Yuri, 28, in the tragedy, told the press after the ceremony.

(2024/12/02-15:56)

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