Suspected human remains found in pot for molten metal in Japan’s Nippon Steel plant
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An alarm was raised for a 30-year-old man at the Nippon Steel facility in Oita in western Japan on May 14.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – Suspected human remains were found in a vessel for molten metal at a steel plant in Japan, hours after an employee was reported missing, the police said on May 16.
An alarm was raised for a 30-year-old man at the Nippon Steel facility in Oita in western Japan on May 14, police spokesman Eijiro Kawano told AFP.
“After searching together with plant workers, we spotted what appears to be fragments of human bone inside a vessel,” Mr Kawano said.
“We don’t know if these really are human bones or if they belong to the worker, 30, who went missing,” he said.
“But if these are the man’s bones, maybe the worker fell into the pot,” he said.
“Hopefully, DNA tests will help us find out,” Mr Kawano said, adding that the police were looking into whether any workers witnessed what happened.
The pot, reportedly containing molten metal heated to over 1,000 deg C and 4m deep, was about 5m below where the man was working, Mr Kawano said.
“We are still investigating details,” a Nippon Steel spokesman told AFP.
“We continue to fully cooperate with the relevant authorities,” he said.
The incident comes as the firm is trying to complete a US$14 billion (S$18.8 billion) takeover of US Steel that has become contentious ahead of elections in the United States in November. AFP
