Husband and wife die after getting trapped in sauna fire ‘due to faulty door handle’

A husband and wife died after a fire broke out in their sauna and they were unable to escape due to a “faulty” door handle.

Tokyo police are currently investigating whether the handle prevented the couple from escaping from the room at Tiger Sauna, located in the Akasaka district, local media reported.

Investigators also found that the alarm system inside the room had no power and, according to an employee, “had not been turned on” in the past two years, Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun reported.

The victims were Yoko Matsuda, 37, a nail technician, and her husband Masanari, 36, who ran a beauty salon.

They were found by emergency services, collapsed on top of each other, with their heads near the door, after a smoke detector went off outside the sauna on Monday around 12:25 p.m. local time.

Both were taken to hospital but later died from their injuries.

Masanari had burns all over his body and both shoulders, while his wife had burns on her right shoulder.

None of their injuries are expected to be life-threatening and an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

A husband and wife in Tokyo, Japan died after becoming trapped in their sauna after a fire broke out due to a ‘faulty’ door handle (file photo)

In a statement on its website, Sauna Tiger said: “We extend our deepest condolences…and deepest sympathies for the deep sorrow and pain that cannot be expressed in words.”

Investigators told local media that there was evidence of a fire that broke out inside the sauna: a bench and the walls of the third-floor room were partially charred, as well as a burned towel.

Police are investigating whether the fire could have started after the towel touched the hot stones in the sauna.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police also said they believed the couple became trapped in the room after the fire broke out.

According to police, when firefighters arrived, they found the door handle detached and lying on the ground, which would have prevented it from opening.

There were also signs inside the room that the couple had tried to press the emergency alarm while the cover was removed – but investigators discovered there was no power supply.

According to the Minato Public Health Center, the sauna opened in July 2022 and was inspected in April 2023 – with “no major defects noted in the equipment” at that time.

An employee told police the device was believed to have been turned off “since around 2023.”

Sauna Tiger said it was cooperating with investigators and taking the incident “very seriously.” The location would remain “closed for the moment”.