4 workers confirmed dead in Niigata tunnel explosion

Very sad. Did the little towns of Tokamachi and Minami Uonuma really require a 3km tunnel?

That's terrible news. After the Chile mining rescue in 2010 I thought (hoped) they'd be OK.

R.I.P. guys. I hope the company will not hesitate to take or their families.

I hope this works project is so necessary that they name it after the four poor souls lost. It's known that there are large pockets of natural gas there, but the men went in under company orders anyway. Will construction cease? I doubt it. RIP to those lost. Curses to the company.

Apparently construction had only just restarted, having been suspended in (IIRC) July last year.

Eleanor: "Apparently construction had only just restarted, having been suspended in (IIRC) July last year."

And why was it halted, pres tel? Let me guess... it was not safe. And let me guess as well that the company that hired these poor souls KNEW it was not safe still but put them in danger's way anyhow. My next guess is that we'll see a lot of bowing and 'sumimasen' by execs, but no admittance of guilt. Kinda reminds me of reactors that have been shut down that certain interests want back on.

smithinjapan, you sure like to guess a lot.

RIP to the poor souls, however I expect like any other project whether it goes on or not will be balanced against the original need. Doesn't make too much sense to attack the project, the managers etc w/o knowing more details which in this case clearly you don't know (since you are just guessing).

And why was it halted, pres tel? Let me guess... it was not safe. And let me guess as well that the company that hired these poor souls KNEW it was not safe still but put them in danger's way anyhow. My next guess is that we'll see a lot of bowing and 'sumimasen' by execs, but no admittance of guilt. Kinda reminds me of reactors that have been shut down that certain interests want back on.

smith. You guess too much. Rather than spending hours posting your numerous "guesses", may I suggest using that time to research the incident on many news sites.

The project was halted during the winter and resumed 18th of this month. There might be negligence on the part of contractors since the police suspect that the workers weren't carrying instruments that measure the gas contents.

i wonder where the gass comes from, some volcanic vent they missed?

Nigel is quite correct - it was halted for winter - I have my seasons/months mixed up since moving to the southern hemisphere!

Difficult to imagine an accident like this happening these days and even more so in Japan. I hope the families are cared fore and a full investigation.

Not another conspiracy theory over an accident? Smithinjapan not every accident is down to negligence or corruption... ever heard of sheer bad luck?

RIP guys, and condolences to your families.