Firefighters check a house where a fire broke out in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Oct. 12, 2021. (Mainichi/Ayano Tanaka)

       KOFU -- A fire broke out in a house in this central Japan city on Oct. 12 after a burglary was reported, and two bodies were later found.

       At around 3:45 a.m. on Oct. 12, police received a call saying that a house in Kofu had been burglarized, and when officers from the Minami-Kofu Police Station rushed to the scene, they found that a fire had broken out in the two-story wooden house.

       Police believe the bodies are those of a couple in their 50s who lived in the house, and are working to identify them. A local resident witnessed a man running from the house, and Yamanashi Prefectural Police are searching for the man.

       According to the prefectural police and others, the couple and their two daughters lived in the house. The younger daughter, who was sleeping on the second floor, heard a fight downstairs and bumped into a man on the staircase. After the sisters fled outdoors, the fire reportedly broke out.

       The daughters sustained minor injuries and were treated at the hospital.

       (Japanese original by Ayano Tanaka and Keisuke Umeda, Kofu Bureau)

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