Foreign Odor Reported on Train near Tokyo; Woman Sent to Hospital

Kawasaki, Kanagawa Pref., May 11 (Jiji Press)–Passengers of a train running in Kanagawa Prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, on Sunday complained of a foreign odor, and a woman was sent to hospital. Around 4:35 p.m., a fire department received an emergency call reporting that something was sprayed on a train traveling between Yokohama and Kawasaki stations on the Tokaido line. Officers from the Kanagawa prefectural police department and firefighters rushed to Kawasaki Station, and some passengers told them that they smelled a stranger odor. A female passenger in her 30s who complained of a problem in her throat was transported to a hospital in the city of Kawasaki in the prefecture. Her symptom is believed to be mild. No one saw something sprayed on the train, and no abnormality was found in a gas test by firefighters. Still, some passengers said they smelled something like pepper. The police and firefighters will investigate details of the incident. Following the incident, train services were temporarily halted on part of the Tokaido line, according to East Japan Railway Co., or JR East. A man in his 60s who came to Kawasaki Station to see his family members said, “It’s scary (because I frequently use the station).” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]