One man died and four others were injured at a theater in Tokyo's Kita Ward on Friday afternoon when they were crushed between the stage and a hydraulic platform they were inspecting, according to police.
The accident occurred at the Sakura Hall in Kitatopia, a ward-run community center near JR Oji Station, at around 2:30 p.m.
Susumu Kamiya, 58, of Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture, was killed, while a 72-year-old man and a 38-year-old man sustained serious injuries. The other two workers sustained slight injuries.
Police said that the five in question were on the platform conducting a regular check of the apparatus.
The platform should stop ascending when the workers reached a position where they were able to touch the underside of the stage.
It failed to do so, however, and the five were crushed between the stage floor. which was kept closed for the inspection, and the rising platform. The worker who was in the control room operating the platform told police he pressed the stop button, but that the platform continued to rise.
The platform itself was out of the control room's view, with the two parties using walkie-talkies to communicate, police said.
Other workers realized what had happened and slid the stage floor to one side to rescue the trapped men, they said.
Investigators questioned several people to determine whether any inspection procedures or safety precautions had been neglected.