10 hospitalised after reported spraying incident on Tokyo train
Ten people were taken to a hospital in Japan on Sunday afternoon, 10 May, after an unknown substance was reportedly sprayed inside a moving train near the Japanese capital, Tokyo.
According to the Independent, the incident occurred at around 16:30 on an East Japan Railway Company train on the Tokaido Line section. The train was travelling from Odawara station in Kanagawa prefecture to Takasaki in Gunma when passengers reported a strange smell inside one of the train cars.
Local media reported that some passengers began coughing and complained of throat irritation and breathing difficulties. The train made an emergency stop at Kawasaki station, where firefighters and emergency personnel inspected the affected carriage.
More than 20 ambulances and emergency vehicles were reportedly dispatched to the station following the alert, and footage appearing to show emergency services' response to the incident appeared online.
According to Tokyo Weekender, a woman in her 30s called emergency services shortly before 16:40 to report that an unidentified substance had been released inside the train. She, her husband and their one-year-old daughter were later taken to hospital, though none suffered serious injuries.
Some passengers in the same train car as the family are reported to have complained of a strange pepper-like smell. No witnesses are reported to have any substance being sprayed inside the train, nor did the firefighters find any hazardous readings during gas inspections. The nature of the substance remains unknown.
