Nine people were injured Sunday when a small tornado swept through the school yard of an elementary school in Nagasaki Prefecture during a sports competition, police said.
The tornado hit Nagaura Elementary School in the town of Kinkai on the coast of Omura Bay at around 2:45 p.m., blowing away tents, police said.
Seven adults and two elementary and junior high school students sustained head and other injures after being hit by tent poles.
Takehiko Sasada, vice principal of the school, said the tornado traversed the school yard in less than a minute.
A local weather observatory said there were no strong winds over Kinkai at the time.