An explosion at a Honda Motor plant in Suzuka, in Japan's Mie Prefecture, seriously injured two men on Sunday, police told local media.

The blast, near an electrical power distribution board, occurred at around 9:15 am Sunday, 14 June.

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The police told local media the factory, about 2km from the Suzuka Circuit motorsport racetrack, was undergoing inspections after halting its blast furnace.

The workers were operating the distribution board to see whether current was flowing.

The two men, who were nearby, sustained serious burns and were taken to the hospital.

The two men, in their mid- and late 20s, suffered burns to the upper body and to the face, respectively.

Police said the burns were likely caused by sparks due to a short circuit in the board.

While the board was partially charred, there were no visible traces of burns on its door or on the floor.

A colleague heard the explosion and found the two collapsed on the floor before a security guard called for an ambulance.

Honda said the Suzuka factory was scheduled to resume operations on Monday following the inspection.

Suzuka, established in 1960 as Honda's third domestic factory, makes A-segment minicars and B-segment small cars such as the Fit/Jazz and Shuttle, according to GlobalData's Auto Intelligence Centre.

It also provides technical support and supplies components to Honda factories in 28 export markets, according to the media reports.

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