2 young brothers killed in apartment fire

Two brothers, aged 6 and 8, died in a fire that broke out in their apartment in Nagasaki City on Wednesday.

According to police, the fire was reported at a three-story apartment building just after 9:30 p.m., Fuji TV reported. The caller said that an apartment was on fire, and that children were trapped inside.

Police and firefighters said the fire occurred in the third-floor apartment of Saki Miyamoto, 31, an office worker. The fire was extinguished after about an hour.

Miyamoto’s eldest son Yuto, 8, and her second son Keito, 6, were unconscious when found lying on the floor of the bathroom. They were taken to hospital where their deaths were confirmed due to smoke asphyxiation.

Miyamoto lived in the apartment alone with her two sons. At the time of the fire, her children were taking a bath. Police believe a defective electric heater in the toilet beside the bathroom was the cause of the fire.

Miyamoto, who was in the kitchen, managed to get out of the apartment and ask her neighbors for help to rescue her children but they were unable to go back into the apartment because of the smoke.

© Japan Today