TOKYO: Four people were confirmed dead after a fire at a house in the Togoshi district of Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward on Thursday.

According to local police and other sources, the four—a woman in her 30s, a boy, and two girls—were found lying on the floor of a bedroom with knife wounds on their bodies. All the children are believed to be aged below 10.

A man in his 40s was also in the house. He sustained burns to his throat but was conscious.

According to the Tokyo Fire Department, a fire call was made by a visiting relative who smelled something burning but found the entrance door locked when getting to the house.

The flames had already gone out before firefighters arrived there, after burning some 3 square meters. The five people were all found on the first floor of the two-story house, located in a residential area about 350 meters east of the Toei Asakusa Subway Line’s Togoshi Station.

Investigations into the incident are underway.

JIJI Press