Large snowstorms in Japan killed eight people

At least eight people were killed in snow-related accidents in Hokkaido, Japan, over the weekend.

The low pressure area covering northern Japan for many days has caused the victims' vehicles to be buried in thick snow.

Town police officer Nakashibetsu said the most tragic accident was Kazuyo Miyashita, 40, and three children who died at the hospital on the night of March 2 after their car was buried in the snow. Miyashita's family is said to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning from car smoke when the chimney and car windows were covered by snow.

A nearby resident called an ambulance at about 7: 10 pm on March 2, but it took two hours for police and rescuers to clean the 2m-thick snow layer to reach the victims.

Also at Nakashibetsu on March 3, overtime worker Haruna Kitagawa, 23, discovered that she was unconscious in the field and was determined to die afterwards. Kitagawa's sister got frozen when she got out of the car about 300m.

Meanwhile, in Yubetsu, a 53-year-old man was killed on March 3 after he and his 9-year-old daughter were buried in the snow on a farm. Mikio Okada died at the hospital but luckily his daughter Natsune was still in love and didn't have any life-threatening injuries. Okada's father and son went missing after leaving their home on the afternoon of March 2 to visit a friend.

Police and rescuers found the car on a road on the evening of March 2, while the father and son were found the next morning. Police said Okada took his body to protect his daughter and lost consciousness later.

All three Miyashita, Kitagawa and Okada victims called their relatives and friends before dying and said their vehicles could not be moved because of heavy snowfall.

On the same day, Satoshi Imai, 54, and Toru Sasaki, 76, were also found unconscious outside the doors of Abashiri and Furano. Both of them were missing after leaving their cars due to snowfall and all died at the hospital.

Last weekend, an unprecedented snowstorm hit Japan's northeastern and Hokkaido provinces. Typically, the Akita Shinkansen train in Akita prefecture was derailed from the track on the 2/3 afternoon. On March 4, the Akita Shinkansen Line resumed normal operation after overcoming the above problem.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the Secretary of State in charge of Keiji Furuya disaster prevention on March 3 to assess damage, restore traffic and provide information to local people.