A pair in Japan have died after they became trapped inside a sauna room after a fireplace broked out.
Yoko Matsuda, a 37-year-old nail artist, and her husband, Masanari, 36, who ran a beauty salon, had booked a non-public sauna room at Sauna Tiger in Tokyo’s Akasaka district, in response to local media.
They were found collapsed on the ground with their heads near the door on Monday and later died in hospital.
Police are looking into whether a faulty door handle had caused the pair to change into trapped.
Investigators also found the ability’s emergency alarm system, which included a button within the room, was switched off, and allegedly had been for 2 years.
In a press release on its website, Sauna Tiger said: ‘We provide our deepest condolences… and our heartfelt sympathies for the deep grief and pain that can not be expressed in words.’
A burnt towel was reportedly found contained in the sauna, suggesting the blaze could have been brought on by the towel touching the recent sauna stones, police said.
The quilt of the alarm button within the sauna had been removed, indicating the couple had been pushing it to call for help, they added.
Police said that when staff were asked in regards to the alrm system, officers were told it had not been switched on ‘since around 2023’.
The Minato Public Health Centre told The Asahi Shimbun newspaper that the sauna opened in July 2022, and was last inspected in April 2023, when ‘no major deficiencies [were] present in the equipment’.
In its statement, Sauna Tiger said it was taking the incident ‘very seriously,’ and ‘cooperating fully with the investigations by the fireplace department’.
It added that the ability could be ‘closed in the intervening time’ and offered refunds to any customers with reservations.
Saunas, especially hiring private sauna rooms, have change into increasingly popular because the Pandemic.
Nonetheless, it has coincided with an increase in sauna-related incidents, prompting calls for greater industry regulation.
In 2017, a mother and her daughter were found dead in a sauna in Prague after the door handle fell off and so they were trapped inside.
The ladies, aged 65 and 45, were using a sauna at a friend’s place and were stuck inside for 90 minutes.
That they had tried and didn’t break the window of the door with a view to try to escape the intense heat.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Virgin Mary painting is barely item unscathed after fire burns down house
MORE: Woman, 25, ‘trapped in bedroom’ killed after house becomes ‘tunnel of fireplace’
MORE: ‘My sister and friend died in an e-bike fire – please watch out for conversion kits’