GUNMA (TR) – Gunma Prefectural Police have launched an investigation following the discovery of the body of a 69-year-old man inside a septic tank on a hog farm in Shibukawa City on Wednesday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 8).
At just past 1:00 p.m., a male worker tipped off police after finding the body floating face-down in the tank on the farm. Officers arriving at the scene confirmed the man, later identified a resident living about 1 kilometer away, dead at the scene.
The clothed body did not have any external wounds. According to the results of an autopsy, the cause of death was drowning. He is believed to have died several days before the discovery, police said.
The buried septic tank is about 25 meters in diameter. The tank is capable of storing material, primarily feces and urine from livestock, to a maximum depth of about 8 meters.
The farm employs about one dozen persons. The man has no connection to the farm, police said.
Police are treating the case as the result of an accident or foul play.
