TOKYO - The Japanese police said at least three people were killed and two women were injured in a tunnel collapse in eastern Japan on Sunday, local media reported.  

Police officers and firefighters gather in front of the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Otsuki, Yamanashi prefecture, in this photo taken by Kyodo Dec 2, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

The 4-km-long Sasago Tunnel in the Chou Expressway in Otsuki, about 80 km west of Tokyo, collapsed at around 8 am local time and caused a small vehicle blazed inside the tunnel.

Local police told Xinhua earlier that they have found several bodies in the tunnel but declined to be more specific on the figures.

Rescuers were forced to withdraw from the tunnel as engineers at the site warned the tunnel's structure was unstable and might lead to collapse again.

After hours of suspension, rescue works have been restarted. Rescuers re-entered the tunnel at around 4 p.m. local time, according to monitor inside the tunnel.  

In a press conference, operator of the highway Central Nippon Expressway Company apologized for the incident and said the ceiling collapsed in a V-sharp.

The company said that in a regular check in September, they didn't find any defects inside the tunnel. Now, the reason of the cave-in is still under investigation.

Two cars were crushed in the tunnel after the 20-centimeter- thick ceiling collapsed in a 50-60 meter section of the cave.

As of now, the two injured women have been taken to hospital as one was slightly injured and the other moderately.

One of the injured woman, who managed to get off from the tunnel, told firefighters that she escaped from a car in which five other people were trapped.

At the incident site, large emergency trucks also enter the tunnel and rescuers have set up tents outside the tunnel, indicating they may continue their operations in the night.

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