OSAKA -- A man was found dead in an apartment here, several hours after a fire was extinguished in the home and firefighters had already gone through the rooms to check for victims, it has been learned.

The man, who appeared to be aged about 80, was found by a member of Nishinari Fire Station, lying on his back in a room of the apartment at about 11:15 a.m. on Sunday.

It is thought that the man died after inhaling smoke from a fire that broke out in a room across the hallway at about 2:30 a.m., but firefighters said that at the time of the blaze, they went through every room to check for people in them and had not seen the man.

Fire station officials said that the fire, started by a candle, partially destroyed the 30-square-meter room before being extinguished about two hours later. Mitsuo Morita, an 81-year-old man living in the apartment was arrested for causing an accidental fire through gross negligence. Morita and two others were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation, but all of them suffered only light injuries.

Officials said the firefighters went through all 10 apartments on the second floor and called out and checked the rooms to make sure there was no one left behind, but the man's body was not found until the scene of the fire was inspected.

At the time of the discovery the man was wearing shoes, and had a towel covering his nose and mouth, tied at the back of his head, officials said. He was reportedly collapsed beside a bed. Police are trying to confirm the man's identity. They planned to conduct an autopsy on his body on Monday.

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