At roughly 8:30 on Thursday night, an explosion occurred in the town of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, about 10 minutes north of Tokyo. The explosion didn’t occur at a factory, gas station, or any other place where you’d assume there’s a comparatively higher chance of something blowing up. Instead, the blast came bursting out of a third-floor corner unit of a 15-story apartment building.
▼ Video of the moment the explosion took place
On those occasions when explosions do happen in private residences, a gas leak is often to blame, but that wasn’t exactly the cause here, since “leak” implies an unintentional introduction of gas. The occupant of the apartment, a Chinese national in his 40s, had deliberately opened up his gas valve. “I was going to kill myself, so I opened up the gas valves,” he told investigators, “but I didn’t die, and I got scared.” Coming to his senses, the man closed the valve and opened his window. Unfortunately, he then decided to smoke a cigarette, and when he attempted to light it, the flame ignited the gas that still remained inside the apartment, triggering the explosion.
The man suffered burns all over his body, and six other residents of the building sustained minor, non-life-threatening injuries. 148 residents were temporarily evacuated, and the blast was strong enough to shatter the windows of an office building some 60 meters away from the apartment.
▼ The state of the apartment the next morning, with its balcony railing blown out
The full severity of the man’s burns have not been reported, but he was apparently in good enough condition and feeling sufficiently energetic to physically assault a police officer after being taken to the hospital, upon which he was arrested for obstruction of official police duties.
If you or someone you know is in Japan and having suicidal thoughts, there are people here to help. Click here for more information.
Source: NHK News Web, Nitele News
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9 Comments
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Laguna
Glad that he'd had second thoughts and averted his demise. I've had my ups and downs now, the downs so low that I once considered suicide (overwork), but now that I'm older, I've stabilized. Trust me: things do get better with age.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I refuse to believe anyone is that dumb.
GuruMick
Smoking is dangerous.
Fighto!
It definitely seems hard to believe. But this man was very, very mentally ill. To add insult to injury, he now needs to pay for damages to the entire building!
I imagine he will declare bankruptcy.
Fighto!
He should probably be locked away in a mental asylum for at least 10 years. He doesn't sound like a nice guy at all.
3RENSHO
"I refuse to believe anyone is that dumb."
Unfortunately, they walk amongst us...
BigP
I saw this once in a tv comedy back in 70s. My god! Someone actually did it.
Desert Tortoise
I'v seen dumber. I used to deliver gasoline in big tank trucks and I'v seen some lulus. One night while making a delivery, fuel hoses attached to the underground tanks and fuel running someone threw a lit cigarette into the fill box. We were supremely lucky the fill box was dry and nothing was leaking. Usually neither is true. What are people thinking? They aren't. Off in their own world oblivious to what is plainly under their nose.
sakurasuki
So he cancelled his plan but instead just clearing up some air, he choose to smoke and caused the whole things.