This video shows what happens inside a train when lightning strikes a carriage.
At about 5:30 a.m this morning a train on the Sotetsu line in Yokohama’s Asahi Ward was hit by lightning after Typhoon Lan made landfall on the Pacific coast of central Japan approximately two hours earlier. The train came to a stop immediately and was unable to run following the incident.
▼ A passenger recorded the scene as one of the carriages began to fill with smoke.
https://twitter.com/sotetsu_akb/status/922198902391967744In the video above, the announcement alerts passengers to the fact that the train has come to an emergency stop, and asks them to wait inside the train. However, it appears that the person making the announcement was unaware that one of the carriages was rapidly filling with smoke.
The video shows one commuter finally coming to the rescue from an adjoining carriage to assess the scene. After checking that nobody has been injured, he tells everyone to open the windows before they all move away from the smoke and into the next carriage.
According to Twitter user @sotetsu_akb, who was riding in the carriage when the lightning struck it, there was a crack of thunder and then a huge spark, followed by smoke, which steadily engulfed the interior.
やばい、煙で死にそう・・・
— 鉄道・AKB48関連専門Channel!! (@sotetsu_akb) October 22, 2017
電車から降ろして・・・ pic.twitter.com/DTGib2UFZU
A few minutes after posting the original video, @sotetsu_akb updated his Twitter feed to report that there was a fire on the train.
8709Fの落雷してる車両で火災発生
— 鉄道・AKB48関連専門Channel!! (@sotetsu_akb) October 22, 2017
His next photo shows that the lights had been turned off, and a carriage door had been opened as a precautionary measure, despite the heavy rain outside.
とりあえず、ドア開けてくれました pic.twitter.com/9lbdBBytr2
— 鉄道・AKB48関連専門Channel!! (@sotetsu_akb) October 22, 2017
Roughly 15 minutes after the train came to an emergency stop, passengers were instructed to evacuate the train from one end, walking along the tracks to safety in the heavy rain.
先程より落雷当該の電車より、乗客の避難が始まりました。 pic.twitter.com/Aj3WAixHXm
— 鉄道・AKB48関連専門Channel!! (@sotetsu_akb) October 22, 2017
This student recorded the moment he evacuated the train, although he had to run along the tracks because he didn’t have an umbrella.
https://twitter.com/koyabudehanai/status/922204842524753920According to @sotetsu_akb, the fire had fizzled out by this time, due to the downpour of rain.
車両落雷後に土砂降りの雨が降ってきたので、車両から出た火は消えました。
— 鉄道・AKB48関連専門Channel!! (@sotetsu_akb) October 22, 2017
Typhoon Lan had weakened to a category 2 storm by the time it reached Japan this morning, although it still brought strong winds and rain to the entire country, with more than 70,000 people ordered to evacuate across various areas.
Two deaths have been reported as a result of the typhoon, as a man was struck by scaffolding in Fukuoka, and another dived into the sea to escape his damaged boat. Thankfully, nobody was injured in this morning’s train incident.
Source: Otakomu
Images: Twitter/@@sotetsu_akb
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