A coffee can exploded Monday afternoon near a ticket vending machine at a train station in Tokyo, injuring a woman in her 20s who was nearby, authorities said.
Police have taken into custody a Chinese man in his 40s, who they believe placed the can at Nishiarai Station in Adachi Ward, and are questioning him, they said.
The woman appears to have sustained burns to her face and lower body after being doused in a liquid, while a female station employee in her 20s who helped the woman was also sent to hospital after complaining of discomfort in her fingers, according to Tokyo police.
"(The explosion) was not intentional. I put detergent from work in it to use at home," the man was quoted by the police as saying.
Police suspect that the explosion may have been caused by a chemical reaction between the detergent and the material of the can.
A security camera near the ticket vending machine showed the man placing what is believed to be a coffee can nearby before purchasing a commuter pass and leaving within a few minutes, the sources said.
An employee at a store close to the ticket machine said she heard something that sounded like a balloon popping. "A woman nearby was crying. I can't believe something like this happened," she said.
The station operator Tobu Railway Co. said the incident did not impact its train services.
