EHIME (TR) – Over 5,000 pigs were burned alive after two pigpens burned down at a pig farm in Saijo City on Tuesday, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 18).
At around 9 p.m., fire crews responded to an emergency call from a female neighbor of the pig farm, who said that she saw flames after the sound of an explosion.
The blaze was extinguished after about four hours. However, the two pigpens covering some 5,500 square meters completely burned down, fire officials said. With the farm being unattended at the time, no injuries were reported.
Some 5,000 to 6,000 of the 8,000 pigs at the pigpens were believed to have been burned alive in the fire.
Police are investigating the cause of fire, including the possibility that it started due to a problem with the heating system at the farm.
