Twenty-seven people are feared dead after a blaze at a building in Osaka city, media reports say.
Twenty-seven people are feared dead after a blaze at a building in Japan's Osaka city.
Public broadcaster NHK and other local media outlets, citing the fire department, said that 27 people were in "cardio-respiratory arrest" after the blaze in a commercial district on Friday, which was extinguished after half an hour.
The fire broke out on the fourth or fifth floor of an eight-story building in a shopping and entertainment area, NHK said.
The charred interior of the fourth floor, which housed a clinic that provided mental health services and general medical care, was visible through broken and blackened windows.
27 feared dead in building #fire in #Japan's #Osaka pic.twitter.com/wauDELVc1G
— Anshu Singh (@Anshujourno92) December 17, 2021
An Osaka fire department official said that 27 of the 28 people injured in the blaze showed no signs of life. In Japan, only a doctor can officially certify someone dead.
"The fire was detected at 10:18 am (01:18 GMT) on the fourth floor," they said. "As of noon, 70 fire engines are at the scene."
Japanese media said a man in his 50s or 60s had allegedly dispersed a liquid to start the blaze.
An Osaka police spokesperson told AFP that officers were investigating the cause of the fire.
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