Tokyo, 16 February, /AJMEDIA/
A 67-year-old man died after falling about 20 meters into a river while clearing snow from a bridge in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, police said Sunday.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 11:45 a.m. Saturday. Sankei Shimbun reported that Takahiro Asa, a company executive, was clearing snow when he fell from Nakajuku Bridge on National Route 252 into the Suezawa River.
Asai was involved in snow removal work ordered by the prefecture to prevent disruption of services on the JR Tadami Line. He was using a snow shovel to clear about four meters of snow from the bridge, but apparently was not wearing a safety rope.
The cause of death was hemorrhagic shock, police said.