A young couple died in Japan after they were left trapped in a private sauna room which caught fire.
Masanari Matsuda, a 36-year-old beauty salon owner, and his 37-year-old wife, Yoko Matsuda, a nail technician, were found collapsed on Monday on the floor of a room at the Sauna Tiger in the Akasaka district of Tokyo.
Tokyo police are investigating whether a faulty door handle, which was found broken on the floor, trapped the couple inside the room, local media reported.
Police reportedly found the fire alarm control panel at the facility’s operation office had been turned off, suggesting the possibility that alarm buttons at all of the sauna units had not been working at the time of the incident, the Japan Times reported.
The couple reserved a private sauna room for two hours at around 11am on 15 December. The police and firefighters were alerted by an employee after a fire alarm outside the sauna unit sounded at 12.25pm.
The firefighters and police found the room’s wooden doorknob had come off from both sides of the door. A towel caught fire, and a bench, including its backrest and seat inside the room, was found charred.
The couple was found on top of each other with their heads near the door. The two were rushed to a hospital, where they were confirmed dead.
The plastic cover of an emergency button in the sauna room where the couple died was found broken, suggesting that the victims made attempts to push the button after noticing something had gone wrong, according to reports.
Sauna Tiger expressed condolences to the victims’ families and said it was taking the incident "very seriously".
"We offer our deepest condolences... and our heartfelt sympathies for the deep grief and pain that cannot be expressed in words," Sauna Tiger said in a statement on its website.
It said the facility would remain closed for the time being as they are "cooperating fully with the investigations by the fire department" and offered refunds to customers who had pre-booked appointments. It did not comment on reports that the alarm buttons at the sauna units had not been working.
The sauna had been in operation since July 2022 and had several private rooms equipped with sauna units and a bath on the second to fourth floors of the building. The fire broke out on the third floor of the building.
