The collision, which involved four trucks and three passenger cars, occurred at about 7.30am on the southbound lanes of the Shuto Expressway’s Ikebukuro Route 5 in Saitama prefecture, just before the Bijogi Junction, according to Tokyo metropolitan police department.

Several people were reported injured after multiple vehicles caught fire and were transported to nearby hospitals while firefighters deployed pump trucks to extinguish the flames engulfing the vehicles.

The deaths were later confirmed, reported national news agency Kyodo citing investigative sources.

Following the collision, a section of the Ikebukuro Route 5 between Takashimadaira and Bijogi Junction has been closed to traffic, causing significant delays and detours amid work to clear the wreckage and investigate the exact cause of the accident.