TOKYO: The number of people in Japan who were sent to hospital due to heatstroke in the week ended on Sunday exceeded 10,000 for the second week in a row as temperatures topped 35 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday.

The number fell by nearly 400 from the previous week, when the weekly figure hit this year’s high.

Of those who were sent to hospital due to heatstroke in the week ended Sunday, people aged 65 or older accounted for 7,395, or about 60 percent of the total.

Twenty-one people died. There were 386 people with severe symptoms who required hospitalization for three weeks or more.

The biggest number of the heatstroke sufferers, or 5,111 people, fell ill at home, followed by 2,287 people who fell ill at roadside.

JIJI Press