1 dead, 26 injured in northeast Japan traffic accident

A traffic accident involving three vehicles on Wednesday morning left one high school student dead and 26 others injured on an expressway in Fukushima Prefecture, northeast Japan, local media reported.



According to public broadcaster NHK, at around 7:30 a.m. local time, a minibus carrying more than 10 high school students collided with roadside crash cushions on the Banetsu Expressway in the prefecture, triggering a chain-reaction crash that involved two other vehicles, resulting in a three-vehicle accident.



One male student who was thrown from the minibus died.



Up to 26 people, including high school students on the minibus and occupants of the other vehicles, were injured, with several in serious condition, NHK reported, citing local firefighters and police.



Police are investigating the details and cause of the accident.