Two customers in their 30s died after a fire broke out at a sauna facility in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Monday. Police and firefighters found the man and woman unconscious near the sauna door, with a bench inside burned. The blaze on the third floor of a five-story building was extinguished in about an hour.
The two customers, believed to be in their 30s, had reserved a private room for two hours starting at 11 a.m. At around 12:25 p.m., an emergency bell sounded at the facility in Akasaka, Minato Ward, prompting a police report. The fire occurred on the third floor of a five-story building housing private rooms with sauna units and baths on the second through fourth floors.
According to police and firefighters, the man and woman were found naked and unconscious near the sauna door, with the bench inside the unit burned. They were rushed to a hospital but later pronounced dead. The blaze was extinguished after about an hour.
The facility's website lists television celebrity Panzetta Girolamo as its general manager. Police are investigating the circumstances and causes of the deaths.
This incident highlights safety concerns at such private sauna venues in urban Tokyo.