OSAKA — Four bodies were found in the charred rubble of an apartment building in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, after a fire broke out early Sunday, police said.

Yoshio Maruyama, 73, Sueo Nishikusa, 65, and Akemi Nakano, 65, all of whom are residents on the second floor, and Kenji Kusuhara, 53, a tenant on the first floor, are missing, police said. They believe the bodies are of those missing four.

Police were investigating the cause of the fire and trying to confirm identities later in the day. Police said Kijiro Kanazawa, 66, who was rushed to hospital, suffered serious burns to both arms. Kanazawa lived on the first floor.