Suicide OAP ‘blew up car and torched house’

Two explosions have hit a Japanese city – killing one person and injuring three – in what police say could be a suicide.

The victim, believedtobe a 72-year-old former military officer, may have set his house in Utsunomiya on fire, blown up his car in a public car park and then blown himself up in a nearby park.

Anotefoundin the clothing of the badly burned victim included the name of the former officer. One of the cars destroyed in a blaze in the car park belonged to the retired military man, and his house burned to the ground earlier, reports said.

The back-to-back loud bangs in the park and car park shocked bystanders, many heading to a festival at the park on a sunny autumn day.

The apparent blast s occurred at about 11.30 am local time within about200m of each other.

Two men were seriously injured in the park explosion, and a 14-year-old boy suffered minor leg injuries. No one was hurt at the car park.

The burned body was found after police received a call saying a person was on fire following what sounded like an explosion.

Bystanders reported loud blasts from the car park. Flames and smoke shot into the air andnearby cars were damaged.

Police officers investigate after an explosion at a park in Utsunomiya, Japan