Early Tuesday morning a fire gutted a two story mahjong parlor in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. The fire killed four men and three more people were injured and hospitalized during the incident.

Local police believe the fire may have been caused by arson. The fire broke out around 3:30 in the morning. Police are looking into to arson as the time frame is similar to a suspected arson that took place on October 14th. That fire burned part of the building’s outer wall and used tires on the premises.

Police are still trying to determine the identities of those who perished in the fire. Three male customers were found deceased inside the mahjong parlor and another man was later confirmed dead after he was brought to the hospital.

Police have reported that eight people were inside the building, six customers and two employees. They were playing mahjong on the second floor at the time of the fire. One of the employees managed to escape the fire said he saw a curtain burning on the first floor which is where the fire is suspected to have originated.





- 2009-11-19