Two Chinese female tourists were hit and killed by a train! They accidentally entered the "death zone" by a pole

Around 3:50 pm on January 9, two Chinese female tourists were killed by a train while waiting for the traffic light at a railway crossing in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. A man found the two women lying on the ground with serious injuries and called the police. One of the women died on the spot, and the other died after being sent to the hospital.

The police found Chinese passports in the belongings of the two people, Yang, 24, and Zhang, 23. The investigation found that before the accident, the two women were standing at the road and railway level crossing where the guardrail had been lowered to prohibit passing. The Japanese police speculated that the two people may have mistakenly thought that the railway track was a "signal waiting area."

▲The final waiting position for the two

▲The traffic light on the opposite side shows red, which makes people mistakenly think that the railing is blocking them and forward passage is currently prohibited.

The train driver said: "I couldn't see them because they were behind the electric poles at the railway crossing and were blocked by the electric poles." The police will continue to investigate the details of what happened at the time. After the accident, the Sanyo Electric Railway stopped operating between Kasumigaoka and Sanyo Akashi for about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

It is reported that the identities of the two Chinese girls have been confirmed through fingerprint comparison upon entry, and their families are being contacted.

The "death zone" beside the train** The simulated video of the accident and the currently published investigation results show that the two Chinese female tourists were standing too close to the train when they were waiting for the traffic light. The train is very fast, which will disturb the rapid flow of air to form negative pressure and suction. People within 2 to 3 meters on both sides of the railway can easily be sucked under the train.

Take the train in front of the platform as an example. When the train passes the platform quickly, it will cause high-speed movement of the platform air. The farther away from the train, the slower the air flow rate. Therefore, the air flow rate is high at the track and low on the platform. According to the Bernoulli effect, the pressure is low at the location with high air flow rate and high at the location with low air flow rate. Therefore, people on the platform are affected by the air pressure from the platform to the track, and are "sucked" towards the train.

Figure 1-1 Simple diagram of the train "sucking" people problem

Specific force analysis is shown in Figure 1-2. The human body is constantly subject to air pressure from all directions in the air. When a high-speed train passes in front of a passenger, the movement of the train will drive the high-speed movement of the air around the train, resulting in the air velocity v1 in front of the passenger> the air velocity v2 behind the passenger. According to the Bernoulli effect, for an incompressible, inviscid fluid with steady flow, on the same streamline, the sum of the three energies (potential energy, pressure difference energy, and kinetic energy) remains constant. For air, therefore, for air with negligible potential energy, when the kinetic energy increases sharply, the pressure difference potential energy decreases, resulting in the resultant force of the air pressure on the person on the left side of Figure 1-2 not being conserved, making people feel that the train "sucks" people, but in fact it is the air that pushes people towards the train.

Figure 1-2 Analysis of the force on people in train problems

When a train is speeding, we must keep a certain distance from the high-speed train. This can ensure that we are not affected by the "Bernoulli principle" and get into danger.

Similar accidents have occurred here before . According to Japanese media reports, four similar accidents have occurred at the same location since 2009.

Some media reported that although there is an emergency button at the railway crossing, its location is hidden and there is no multilingual sign, making it difficult for foreign tourists to find it.

The railway crossing emergency button has no multi-language label. It is understood that the section of Tarumi-ku, Kobe City, where the accident occurred, is a complicated and dangerous area recognized by local residents. It is necessary to cross two railway lines and wait for the traffic light in the "isolation zone" between the railway and the road to cross the zebra crossing to reach the other side. The accident occurred in this isolation zone.

The report mentioned that this isolation area is not only extremely narrow but also a slope, only about the width of an adult's shoulders. If you push a bicycle, the front wheel will enter the zebra crossing. Because it is too dangerous, there is a warning sign prohibiting elementary school students from crossing this road. They can take the underground passage of Nishimaiko Station. Some detours require an extra 10 to 15 minutes.

Local residents all knew that it was very dangerous to wait for traffic lights in the narrow and steep isolation area outside the railway line, and they felt that an accident would happen sooner or later, but they did not expect such a serious personal accident to happen on the inside of the railway line.

According to the testimony of the tram driver, when the collision occurred, the two men were standing in the railway line area, facing the road, and were probably waiting for the traffic light to cross the road.

Railway safety is always in mind. Sadly, two female students met with misfortune at a railway crossing in Japan and will never be able to return home.

Japan's railways developed earlier and its railway network is complex. According to relevant media reports, as of 2022, there are about 30,000 railway crossings in Japan.

In contrast, according to data previously released by the National Railway Administration, by 2023, there will be more than 11,000 railway crossings in China, including more than 3,000 railway mainline crossings, mainly concentrated in economically underdeveloped areas. These areas have a large number of crossings and high safety risks. Once a train collision occurs, it is very easy to cause heavy casualties and serious threats to the lives and property of the people.

Therefore, the safety of railways is particularly important. In previous accidents, we have also witnessed many dangerous incidents. The following are some cases and safety knowledge about railways, I hope everyone can keep them in mind.

Source: Xinhua Daily, Metropolitan Express, News Square, Beijing News, etc.

Editor: David Duan