Heavy snow kills 8 in Japan, including family in car

Japanese snow deaths: Stranded vehicles are buried under snow along a road in Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido, northern Japan on Sunday. At least eight people were killed after their vehicles got trapped in heavy snow in Hokkaido over the weekend, local reports said. IMAGE

AP Photo: Kyodo News. Japanese snow deaths: Stranded vehicles are buried under snow along a road in Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido, northern Japan on Sunday. At least eight people were killed after their vehicles got trapped in heavy snow in Hokkaido over the weekend, local reports said. IMAGE

3/4/13

The weekend snow caused drifts of up to 6 1/2 feet and was blamed for derailing a bullet train.

TOKYO — Heavy snow that fell in northern Japan over the weekend killed eight people on Hokkaido island, including a family whose car became buried.

Kazuyo Miyashita, 40, her two daughters Misa, 17, and Sayo, 14, and her son Daiki, 11, died at a hospital Saturday night of carbon-monoxide poisoning after their vehicle got buried in the snow, according to Kyodo news service.

Separately, Haruna Kitagawa, 23, froze to death after leaving her car, stuck in the snow. A 53-year-old man died Sunday after getting buried in the snow, although his 9-year-old daughter found with him was recovering, Kyodo said.

Also over the weekend, a 54-year-old man and a 76-year-old man were found collapsed in the snow in another part of Hokkaido, and both were confirmed dead, it said.

The storm caused 6 1/2-foot drifts and was blamed for derailing a bullet train in Akita prefecture, south of Hokkaido, on Saturday afternoon. Kyodo said the passenger train was moving slowly because of the heavy snow on the tracks, and the derailment caused no injuries.

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