On July 15, 1949, Hitotsubashi University freshman Sakuji Horikoshi was returning to his dormitory when he hopped off a late-night train at Mitaka Station in western Tokyo to have some quick noodles. He suddenly found himself in the middle of a disaster zone.
An unmanned train started moving and plowed through the track-end bumper, proceeding into the station and adjacent structures, leaving six people dead and around 20 others injured.
"The station filled with a roar. It was like the air raids and screams I heard during the war," said Horikoshi, who narrowly escaped the crash. "The scene was simply hell."