An investigation is conducted at the site of the burned down house in Inami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Nov. 22, 2021. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

       INAMI, Hyogo -- Hyogo Prefectural Police began investigating the site of a fire at a private residence in this west Japan town on the morning of Nov. 22 as they believe that the two bodies found there are those of elementary school-aged brothers.

       Flammable liquid was detected at the site, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned from a source close to the investigation. Because the flames spread quickly, prefectural police believe that someone set fire to the site using the flammable liquid. The two dead people are apparently brothers who lived in the house, and police are looking for their uncle in his 50s who lived with them there, believing that he has information about the incident.

       According to the prefectural police, the fire broke out at around 11:50 p.m. on Nov. 19. It burned down a total of some 220 square meters of the wooden two-story house, and the fire was extinguished about 4 1/2 hours later. A body was found near the site of a room beside the entrance, and another near a corridor. Their physical features suggest that they were sixth-grade and first-grade brothers, and police are trying to confirm their identities.

       The house was inhabited by the brothers, their parents, and the mother's older brother. The mother was away for work when the fire occurred, and the father had driven to pick her up. The uncle's whereabouts has apparently been unknown since the fire started.

       The site is about 3 kilometers northeast of JR Tsuchiyama Station, and the area is surrounded by houses, rice paddies and fields.

       (Japanese original by Ai Murata and Kenji Tatsumi, Kobe Bureau)

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