Kyodo News / AP
Police officers and firefighters gather at the exit of the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Otsuki in central Japan on Sunday.
By NBC News staff and wire services
Updated at 3:20 a.m. ET: TOKYO -- A tunnel on a heavily traveled highway west of Tokyo collapsed early Sunday, trapping vehicles and leaving seven people missing, authorities said.
Smoke from a fire that resulted in the 2.7-mile-long Sasago Tunnel hampered rescue attempts.?The fire service said the blaze was extinguished about 11 a.m. (9 p.m. ET) -- some three hours after the accident occurred. Rescue work was then suspended for fear of further collapses.?
Seven people were believed to be missing and two were injured, the fire service said. At least two cars were thought to be trapped.?
Motorists described narrow escapes from falling debris, and a long walk through the darkness after abandoning their cars.
"When I was driving in the tunnel, concrete pieces fell down suddenly from the ceiling," a man in his 30s told public broadcaster?NHK. "I saw a crushed car catching fire. I was frightened, left my car and walked for about an hour to get out of the tunnel."?
Jiji Press / AFP - Getty Images
A screen grab taken from video from highway operator Central Nippon Expressway Company shows a passenger vehicle stopping in front of the collapsed roof inside the highway tunnel.
NHK reporter Yoshio Goto, caught in Sunday's accident, hit the accelerator and managed to drive out.
"But it was a bit too late and pieces of ceiling fell on my car. I kept pressing the pedal and managed to get out," he said. "Then when I looked around, I saw half of the car ceiling was crushed."
More news from the Asia-Pacific region
It was the worst such accident in Japan since 1996, when a tunnel collapsed and falling rocks crushed cars and a bus, killing 20 people.?
The Sasago Tunnel is on the Chuo Expressway, about 50 miles outside Tokyo.
NBC News staff contributed to this report from Reuters.
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