A man caused an explosion in his apartment while trying to spray insecticide to kill a cockroach in Japan.
According to a report in the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, the incident took place at around midnight on December 10, when the 54-year-old man spotted a cockroach inside his apartment in Kumamoto’s Chuo Ward and sprayed a large amount of insecticide to try and kill it.
The explosion blew out the balcony window, following which he suffered minor injuries.
During the investigation, burn marks were detected near a “kotatsu” heating table, as per the report.
According to the report, Japan’s National Consumer Affairs Centre has received several reports of such explosions.
A report in The Straits Times stated that spraying pesticides at electrical outlets can damage them and consequently injure people, according to several pest removal companies.
Many insecticides contain flammable ingredients, including alcohol and also contain propellants including propane and butane. If a room contains a perfect mixture of the propellants and oxygen, an explosion may occur, the Singaporean newspaper stated.
