Decorated Float Parade in Japan Claims Two Lives

Tokyo (ANTARA) – Two men were killed and more than a dozen others injured when decorated floats overturned during an annual parade in Japan’s Osaka Prefecture on Saturday.

Police said a 51-year-old man in Izumisano was trapped beneath an overturned float while riding on it with other participants. He was later pronounced dead at hospital, while seven others were injured.

Another float overturned in Izumiotsu, also killing a man who was trapped beneath it, local police said. He was 48.

The man was riding on the float when it overturned. Nine others were reported injured.

Police said both accidents occurred as the danjiri floats were manoeuvring around bends.

The danjiri floats are pulled by people through city streets in a parade that was originally held as a prayer for an abundant harvest in the south-western part of the prefecture.

Accidents often occur during yarimawashi, the parade’s main attraction, in which the floats turn without stopping.

On 3 October, 11 people were injured when a float overturned in Sakai, another city in the south-western part of the prefecture.