Crushing incident at Japanese Naked Festival

Tokyo - Two people have been injured after being crushed when a crowd of about 9,000 men wearing only loincloths got out of control at an annual Naked Festival in Japan.

The two men, aged 30 and 41, remain in hospital in a serious condition.

A total of 40 participants and spectators have been treated at the local hospital for injuries.

Some 125,000 people attended the 1,200 year old ceremony - involving a crowd of men dressed in white loincloths trying to ward off bad luck by touching the body of the year's appointed "sacred man" as he enters Konomiya Shrine, in central Japan.

Police said some of the injuries stemmed from drinking too much Sake, drunk to counter the freezing conditions.

There have been no cases of serious injury in the festival's recent past, added police. -- Annanova News

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