Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel Disaster

Iwate Train No. 2910 on 4 October 2114, months before it was destroyed.

The Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel Disaster occurred on 3 January, 2115 and is considered one of Tsuchi no Kuni's worst peace time disasters, and the worst train disaster in the country's history. It happened when a section of the Iwate-Ichinohe Commuter tunnel collapsed during the busy post-holiday season.

Details of the Event

12 lives were lost in the disaster, though a rescue effort coordinated by a Chuunin, Honda Kitakaze, managed to save 164 people and prevent both the towns of Ichinohe and Iwate from sending more trains into the dangerous tunnel before the rescue effort could be completed. Though terrorists, both domestic and foreign, were initially suspected of targeting the busy train tunnel, it was eventually discovered that errors in the building process were to blame. The resulting investigation, which took many months to complete, was critical of the decision by the Country's Leadership to direct so much of their forces into the raising tensions between Yuki no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni. Provisions were enacted that made rescue services more readily available in the event of a domestic disaster of this scale, as well as to increase the percentage of Medical Shinobi trained in the nation.

In the aftermath, local and national media alike were incredibly critical of the delayed rescue response and speculate that back up from Iwagakure no Sato or the Iwagakure Air Federation could have saved more lives. Autopsies confirmed that one woman killed actually managed to live up to 8 hours after the collapse before eventually succumbing to her wounds. Controversy remains on whether or not the Iwate-Ichinohe Tunnel Disaster is accuracelty designatd as a "peacetime" disaster as geopolitical tensions played a part in its eventual death toll.