Saijo city vice mayor dies, crushed under festival bearer - Ehime

On the riverbed of Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture, at around 5:45 p.m. on the 17th, Deputy Mayor Akihiro Namba (62), who was participating in the Saijo Festival, was crushed under a food stall known as a ``taikodai,'' and about an hour later, he was confirmed dead at a hospital. There were no other injuries. Prefectural Police Saijo Police Station is investigating the details.

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According to the police station and the city, the drum stand is around 5.3 meters high and weighs 2 to 3 tons, and Nambae was the person who carried it. At that time, a total of 11 cars lined up in a row and a ``Kakikurabe'' was held.

The Saijo Festival is a general term for the annual festivals of the four shrines in the city, and has been going on since the Edo period, and it is said that over 100 stalls, including mikoshi and danjiri floats, are dedicated to the festival.

Nanbae was appointed deputy mayor in July of this year after serving as the city's environmental director. Mayor Miyoshi Ochi commented, ``I still can't believe what happened just as we were about to build a new Saijo city government together.I pray for his soul from the bottom of my heart.''