A bus has crashed into a roadside windbreak in western Japan, killing the driver and injuring 21 passengers on board.



The accident occurred in Mihama town, Mie Prefecture, at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. The bus crossed the center line of the national highway, which runs straight at the site of the accident.



The police say the 57-year old driver, Hashizume Satoshi, was taken to hospital and pronounced dead. The 21 passengers with injuries were also transferred to hospital. A reserve driver on board was uninjured.



The Seibu Kanko Bus was on route to Saitama City north of Tokyo after departing about an hour earlier from Nachikatsuura town, Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan.



Video footage taken at the site by NHK shows the left front of the bus severely smashed against trees, with its windshield shattered.



One passenger in his 30s told NHK that he felt an impact of the crash after feeling a sudden sense of slumping down. He said most of the seats were occupied, and that some passengers were bleeding from their heads, nostrils and mouths.



He was so taken aback at the time that he could not understand what was going on, but he said he now feels the severity of what happened.