Photo/Illutration Police and firefighters continue their search for victims at the Arakawa rice cracker plant in Murakami, Niigata Prefecture, operated by Sanko Seika Co., on Feb. 13, two days after a fire broke out there. (Akihito Ogawa)

MURAKAMI, Niigata Prefecture--A sixth body was found in the ruins of a rice cracker factory here following a fire that broke out late at night on Feb. 11 and burned until nearly noon the next day, according to police.

Niigata prefectural police said on Feb. 14 that they are trying to identify the newly discovered victim as two male employees in their 20s at Sanko Seika Co.’s Arakawa plant remain unaccounted for.

The local fire department was alerted at around 11:45 p.m. on Feb. 11 that a blaze had broken out at the plant, according to police.

A two-story steel-frame building used to manufacture “arare,” “senbei” and other rice crackers burned down in the conflagration. 

Of the five bodies previously discovered at the scene, four were female part-time cleaning workers aged between 68 and 73. The other was an unidentified person believed to be an employee at the plant.

Two of the four female workers were found collapsed on each other as did the other two near the entrance of the building on the northern side of the structure at around 1:20 a.m. on Feb. 12, according to police and the fire department.

They said a fire shutter installed at the entrance inside the building was closed.

The building had already lost power when firefighters rushed to the scene six minutes after they were alerted.

“A fire alarm went off (immediately after the fire started), and the building lost power soon after that,” an employee who was at the site when the fire broke out reportedly told the fire department after the blaze.

Police believe the power outage following the fire likely hindered the four female workers from noticing an escape route installed next to the fire shutter to bypass it. 

Police said the four may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, citing the soot on their noses and the lack of severe burns on their bodies.

The building in question was used to knead rice cracker dough, bake it and package the items, according to Sanko Seika.

Police and the fire department said the fire apparently started near the central part of the building because the ceiling above the area was burned down.

The area was close to where rice crackers were shaped and left to dry. The body of the unidentified person, discovered along with the four workers, was found around that area.

During a regular inspection of fire safety equipment at the Arakawa plant in September 2020, the fire department found six minor problems, such as malfunctioning of guide lights and poorly placed fire extinguishers.

The company later reported to the fire department that it rectified the problems. The fire department was due to confirm the corrective measures on site during its next inspection.

(This article was written by Akihito Ogawa and Natsuki Midorikawa.)

Related News