Bullet Train Passenger Torches Himself

A passenger on one of Japan's high-speed bullet trains set himself on fire today, filling a carriage with smoke, Japanese officials say. National broadcaster NHK reports that the man and a female passenger are dead. Japan's transport ministry and a fire official say the victims were in a state of "cardiopulmonary arrest," the term used before official confirmation. The passenger apparently poured oil over his head before setting himself on fire, according to a transport ministry official.

The train stopped when a passenger pressed an emergency button after finding one of the two victims collapsed on the floor near a restroom in the first car, the transport ministry official says. The other victim was found collapsed in an area between the first and second cars. At least nine others were injured, one seriously, mostly from smoke inhalation, a fire department official says. The train, which was traveling from Tokyo to Osaka, remained stopped on the tracks outside the city of Odawara for about three hours, and bullet train service between Tokyo and Osaka was suspended. (More Japan stories.)