More than 130 vehicles involved in crash during blizzard on Japanese highway leaving one dead, 17 injured

A massive pile-up of more than 130 vehicles on a highway in northern Japan during a blizzard has left at least one person dead and 17 injured.

About 200 people were stranded in the crash, which forced the closure of the Tohoku Expressway in Miyagi prefecture on Tuesday, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

Public broadcaster NHK said highway authorities finished cleaning up the debris after about eight hours.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said a truck rammed into a passenger car, triggering the pileup over a 1km stretch of the highway. One person was killed, he said.

The disaster agency later said 17 others were injured, two seriously.