"Construction of a radio relay facility was in progress at a forest in Shizuoka Prefecture. Power shovels were being used for digging a slope of the forest and for making a big hole in the ground. A 41-year-old female was working at the bottom of the hole (1–2m in depth). Suddenly, a landslide took place just above the hole and she was completely buried under the earth and sand. Her husband and one of their colleagues, who were totally upset, immediately made efforts to dig her out using scoops, but were unsuccessful, because of the larger amounts of the earth and sand than expected. Therefore the colleague carefully tried to save her using a power shovel. About 10 min after the landslide, she was dug out dead at the spot with her head and face being destroyed markedly. The colleague deeply apologized to her husband for her death.
A judicial autopsy was performed about 24h after her death, under suspicion of professional involuntary manslaughter against the colleague who drove the power shovel. However, her husband did not give consent to the police to start a suit against the colleague."