TOKYO, JAPAN - One person died and 16 others fell ill from suspected carbon monoxide inhalation at a Japanese hotel Tuesday, officials and local media said.

The guests of the Yamaguchi Shuhou Plaza Hotel in Mine, Yamaguchi prefecture, were rushed to hospital, a spokesman for the Mine Fire Department said, adding that the injured included firefighters.

The spokesman said one of the victims was in cardiac and respiratory arrest, but public broadcaster NHK said the person was later confirmed dead.

The cause of the death and their illness was not immediately known, "but they could be poisoned with carbon monoxide," the spokesman said.