5 Inpatients Die Apparently of Heatstroke at Gifu Hospital

August 29, 2018

Tokyo- Five patients in their 80s died apparently of heatstroke at a hospital in the central Japan city of Gifu in the past few days, local police said.

The latest death was that of an 84-year-old man who died at Y&M Fujikake Daiichi Hospital on Tuesday evening, the Gifu prefectural police department said Wednesday.

The other four patients aged 83-85--two men and two women--died between Sunday evening and Monday morning. There is a possibility that air conditioners in their rooms had been out of order, investigative sources said.

The police raided the hospital on Tuesday night on suspicion of murder while stopping short of identifying a suspect.

The four who died through Monday were in rooms on the third and fourth floors of the hospital, according to the sources.

The man who died on Tuesday was on the third floor when hospitalized. It is unknown where he was at the time of his death.

The police started the investigation into the case for possible charges of professional negligence resulting in death, after a person who claimed to be related to the situation called the police on Monday night and said four people died apparently of heatstroke at the hospital.

"We don't think there was any problem," a hospital official told reporters on Tuesday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, temperatures in Gifu rose to as high as 36.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday. The mercury did not fall below 25 degrees, from Sunday night to early Monday.

Fujikake Daiichi Hospital is located about one kilometer north of Gifu Station of Central Japan Railway Co. or JR Tokai.

The hospital specializes in medical care for elderly people and have 119 beds, according to its website. Jiji Press