A couple perished after being trapped inside a private sauna room during a terrifying fire in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, amid official investigations focusing on the possibility of a malfunction in the facility's safety systems.
Preliminary investigations showed that the alarm system at the "Sauna Tiger" facility had been nonfunctional for about two years, and police are investigating the possibility that the sauna room's door handle was defective, leading to the couple being trapped inside. The victims were identified as Yoko Matsuda (37 years old) and her husband Masanari Matsuda (36 years old).
The fire department received a fire report, and upon the arrival of the teams, the sauna room's door handle was found on the floor. The emergency teams found the couple collapsed on the floor of the room, their heads near the door; they were transported to the hospital but later succumbed to their injuries, according to "The Sun".
Medical examinations revealed that the husband sustained burns on both shoulders and parts of his body, while the wife suffered burns on her right shoulder, and a post-mortem report suggested that the cause of death was due to burns or heatstroke inside the room.
Investigations clarified that the fire had ignited due to a towel coming into contact with the sauna's hot stones, before spreading to the seats and walls, while the alarm system was disabled, and the emergency button cover was removed, leading investigators to believe that the couple pressed it in vain in an attempt to call for help.
This incident comes at a time when Japan is experiencing wide popularity of sauna facilities, coinciding with an increase in related incidents, which has renewed calls for stricter regulation and oversight of this sector.
The management of "Sauna Tiger" announced the temporary closure of the facility, and their dealing with the incident "with utmost seriousness," confirming their full cooperation with the authorities and refunding the amounts to customers with existing reservations.
