OSAKA -- A chunk of concrete measuring 6 cm by 12 cm and weighing roughly 200 grams was found broken off an elevated bridge supporting a portion of the Sanyo Shinkansen track between Himeji and Aioi in Hyogo Prefecture, West Japan Railway Co. officials said Monday.
According to the officials, the concrete block fell onto a pedestrian walkway below. No one was injured.
A nearby resident found the concrete chunk at around 5 p.m. Sunday evening and brought it to Aioi Station, they said. Inspections revealed a spot along the bottom of the elevated bridge where the concrete appeared to have fallen from, railway officials said.
Although the firm has said it would not affect railway operations, officials said they would take measures to fix the gap as quickly as possible.
Concrete blocks weighing about 10 kg and 40 grams respectively were found to have fallen off elevated bridges in Yamaguchi Prefecture in April 1998 and in Fukuoka Prefecture in May the same year.