Explosion at Japanese movie effects company kills two

Tokyo: An explosion and fire at the central Tokyo office of a firm supplying gunpowder for movie shoots killed two people on Wednesday, domestic media said.

The blaze destroyed two buildings and left four other people injured, officials at the Tokyo Fire Department said.

Shinichi Yokoyama, 60, who was among the injured, said the blast occurred when he was mixing gunpowder, Kyodo news agency reported. His company supplies explosives for gunfire scenes in movies, media said.

About 60 firetrucks and over 100 firefighters rushed to the scene, the fire department said. Plumes of smoke could be seen from several kilometres away.