A Japanese man trying to kill a single cockroach inadvertently blew up his own apartment, officials said.
The botched pest control was reported early Sunday, Dec. 10, in the city of Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu, about 230 miles southwest of Hiroshima.
How the incident happened
Sometime before midnight, a 54-year-old man spotted a cockroach inside his apartment in the city’s Chuo Ward and sprayed a massive amount of insecticide to wipe out the insect, reported the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, citing the Kumamoto Prefectural Police.
A minute later, an explosion went off, blowing out a balcony window. The unfortunate resident suffered a minor injury in the blast, police said.
Investigation ongoing
An investigation into the fiery incident has uncovered burn marks near the victim’s kotatsu – a Japanese heating table.
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan said it has received multiple reports of explosions that have been linked to insecticide being sprayed near electrical outlets.
This is not the first time that a disaster has struck when someone tried to kill insects using non-traditional methods.
