Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Rescue Operations at the Timeof Train Derailment
in Amagasaki, Hyogo

Amagasaki City Fire Department
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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Tottori
Prefecture

OkayamaPrefecture

Kyoto Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

OsakaPrefecture2

Amagasaki City
Fire Department

As of September 30, 2005

Amagasaki City: Basic Facts
Area
 Population
 Number of Households
 Population Density

49.80 k㎡
460,488
205,972
9,260/ k㎡

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Accident Summary 1

Monday, April 25, 2005
9:18 a.m.
 Recognition Time
9:22 a.m.
 Place
3-27 Kukuchi, AmagasakiBetween Tsukaguchi Station andAmagasaki Stationon the JR Fukuchiyama Line
 Details
Five carriages of the sevencarriage train derailed, and two ofthe derailed carriages crashed intoa condominium building.
Date and Time4

Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Accident Scene, Viewing from North

April 25, 9：40 a.m. - 10：00 a.m.

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Accident Scene, Viewing from Northto Osaka

The train derailed whenrunning on right hand
curve – R304m

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

Accident Summary 2
Derailed Train
・The JR rapid-transit train from Takarazuka
Station in Hyogo (at 9:03 a.m.) bound for
Doshisha-mae Station in Kyoto.
・Scheduled Arrival Time at Amagasaki Station(9:20 a.m.)・Estimated Number of Passengers: 580

Report of Accident (from a resident of the nearby
Condominium)“It appears that a train has derailed and rolled.”
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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

FourthThirdFirst
SecondSource: Asahi Shimbun

The rescuers couldn’t recognize
the first vehicle at the initial phase.
So the first rescue started at thehead of the second vehicle.

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Fire Department

Specifics of Accident⑦⑥


So many passengers were injured or trapped⑤

in the badly damaged carriages.


There was concern that the carriages lostits strength due to the crash – causing danger
for rescue activities.
Operations were restricted bygasoline leaks.

④③②
①10

Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Accident Scene, Viewing from West11

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Fire Department

April 25
★９：１８
９：２２
９：２２
９：２４
９：３３
９：３５
９：３８
９：４１
９：４６
９：５０
９：５０
１０：３０
１０：４０

Progress of Operations
The train derailed.
The Amagasaki City Fire Department learnedof the accident.
First emergency response companies (nine cars)
responded.
An advance team arrived at the scene of the accident.
The command center was set up at the scene of the accident.
The National Disaster Medical Center was asked to dispatch doctors.
Second emergency response companies (ten cars) responded.
The first aid station set up.
The fire departments of neighboring cities were asked to dispatch
support units (Nishinomiya City and Itami City).
Kobe City was asked to dispatch support units based on the mutual aidagreement for wide-area fire service.
The Osaka City Fire Department was asked to dispatch support units.
The Amagasaki City Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters
was set up.
Hyogo Prefecture requested FDMA to dispatch Emergency Fire
Response Teams to the accident scene.

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Characteristic Aspects
in the Rescue Operation



400 and more causalities hospitalized invery short time

10 victims taken to hospitals by helicopters

CSRM（Confined Space Rescue Medicine）

First Responders collaboration on site – FireService, Police, Medical Team etc13

Amagasaki CityFire Department

Casualties
DeathsInjuries

107
Men
Women
562
MenWomen

59
48
22733514

Amagasaki City

Field Command Post

Fire Department

5 vehicles
derailedJapan
Railways
PoliceSchoolGround
First Aid Station

Flat - crashedby the train

Fire Service15

Amagasaki City
Fire Department

April 25

12：00 a.m.

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

ThirdCarriage

Internal space secured
at the third vehicle

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Rescue Operations in Second Carriage

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Rescue Operations in Second Carriage

Set a fixed support atthe 1st floor of the flatto carry out the rope rescue

Create a fixed supportfor the rope rescue on
the train vehicle itself

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

Rescue Operations in Second Carriage

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

Rescue Operations in First Carriage

Ｆｌｏｏｒ

 The right side of the photo is floor of
the 1st carriage and the left is the ceiling The vehicle 20m long, but just a space of
10m long alive at the center part whileboth of the heads - 5m each, completely crashed21

Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Rescue Operationsin First Carriage

Source: Asahi Shimbun

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

Rescue Operations in First Carriage

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

Rescue Operations in First Carriage

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

Confined Speace Rescue Medicine

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People rescuedor discovered

Fire Department

RescueOperations

Amagasaki
Osaka(on 25th)① around 20② around 20

Nisinomiya
Itami
Asiya
KwanisiAmagasaki
Kobe
Himezi
Akasi
Takarazuka③ around 10④ around 30⑤ around 40（on 26th）
1st carriage 22
2nd carriage 23
Amagasaki（on 27th-28th）Kobe

1st carriage 10

Source: Asahi Shimbun

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

The rescuers got into throughthe window – three alive and20 in cardio pulmonary arrest

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Amagasaki CityFire Department

Rescue of Survivors
Trapped in First Carriage

25th 16:00 It was confirmed that four people were alive.
04:26
21:41
04:37
21:45
04:48
21:54
05:07
22:37
05:23
22:58
05:54
26th 00:06 (Alive)
05:58
00:39
02:50 (Alive) 06:16
06:51
03:25
07:06 (Alive)
04:10
04:16
07：31
A total of 23 people
04:21
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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

 CSRM Doctor’s infusion solution to prevent
victims from crush syndrome - such as
MEYLON (Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate)
and Normal Saline

Rescue Operations in First Carriage29

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Fire Department

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Life Detector
To find survivors in a collapsed area
by detecting human heart pulse/lungwork

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Shoring after the expert’s examination,
as the core structure of the flat could
be heavily damaged due to the train
crash

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

PTSD（Post Traumatic Stress Disorder）

Not every rescuer involved had experienced the rescue activities at frightful
catastrophe like in Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake – one of the most extraordinary
disasters in Japan and the epicenter of the earthquake close to Fukuchiyama accident
scene. The fact above highlighted the concern about the rescuers’ PTSD.
Mental Care
Emergency Mental Support Team – composed of 7 psychiatry experts anddispatched by FDMA, served for 24 rescuers, 7 ambulance crews and 4 firefighters
who attended the accident scene and asked for the mental counselling.
ResultOn one was found in serious condition, with no need to receive emergency treatment,
but the follow-up was necessary as the mental illness may occur on them later. Below
are the stress check result, before the doctor consultations
・Flashback 19 （54.3％）
・Nerves 14 （40.0％）
・Insufficient Sleep with Stress 11 （31.4％）
・Frequent Dream of Accident Scene 9 （25.7％）
・Reluctance to Conversation 3 （8.6％） ・None of Negative Sign 5 （14.3％）

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Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Frame of Mind
Keep on training while assuming that
unprecedented disaster – even beyond
imagination, can occur.
 A disaster happened somewhere – it means
the same type of disaster can happen in ourjurisdiction. Need to take it into mind when
making preparedness for the future.
 Take pride of the profession
and carry on stepping up
the skill and the technic.
37

Amagasaki City
Fire Department

Thank you very much for listening.

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