Japan's rail safety comes under fire

Japanese police looking for clues to the cause of the country's worst rail crash in more than 40 years raided the offices of the train's operator yesterday as weeping relatives claimed the remains of many of the 76 confirmed dead from a makeshift morgue.

Investigations were focusing on the speed at which the crowded train was travelling when it jumped the tracks on the outskirts of the western city of Osaka and smashed into an apartment building just after rush hour on Monday morning.

With hundreds of residents watching in silent prayer, rescue teams squeezed into flattened carriages in a last effort to find survivors. Cranes removed train debris wrapped around an apartment building.

Three people were confirmed dead late Tuesday, some 36 hours after the speeding commuter train jumped the tracks and smashed into an apartment building during the morning rush hour in this industrial city near Osaka.

"I thought Japanese trains were safe. Now I have to think again," said Junko Iwabe, a 35-year-old housewife in this western industrial town, as she bowed in respect before the site of Japan's worst train accident in 42 years.

The search was continuing for a second night so long as hope remained for survivors amid reports that 10 to 20 people could still be trapped under the debris, a fire department spokesman said.