Four people are unaccounted for following a fire early Friday that destroyed a house in Toyama Prefecture, local police and firefighters said.
The fire broke out at about 3:20 a.m. at the two-story wooden house of Hiroshi Miyazaki, 86, in the city of Tonami.
Of the five occupants, Miyazaki's 24-year-old grandson jumped from the second floor and is believed to have broken his right hand and right leg, but the other family members are still missing. The fire was contained in about an hour.
Miyazaki lived with his wife, 82, son, 61, daughter-in-law, 57, and grandson in the house, which was located in the middle of rice fields.
Teruko Miyazaki, 75, a relative of the family who reported the fire, said the noise from the burning house was deafening.
A 68-year-old neighbor said that when he looked outside, the flames were already 5 or 6 meters above the roof.
"There was nothing I could do," he said.