A couple and their two children were killed Sunday when their car was hit by a train on the JR Sanyo Line at a pedestrian and motorcycle grade crossing in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, police said.
Police identified the victims as Hiroyoshi Sugiyama, 35, of the city of Yamaguchi, his 30-year-old wife, Mayumi, and their two children, Yuki, 9, and Miyu, 3.
Their vehicle was wrecked in the 2:40 p.m. collision at the Shimomizukami crossing, which is limited to pedestrians and motorcycles only, police said.
None of the about 50 people aboard the two-car train bound for Iwakuni from Shimonoseki was hurt, police said.
The accident halted the JR Sanyo Line's northbound trains between Tokuyama and Ogoori for three hours, railway officials said.