Japan building fire leaves 27 feared dead in suspected arson attack
- Video footage showed smoke pouring out of a psychiatry clinic at an eight-storey building in Osaka
- An elderly man reportedly brought a bag into the building that leaked flammable liquid and was ignited
A fire swept through a psychiatry clinic in the Japanese city of Osaka on Friday, with 27 people feared dead and police reported to be investigating possible arson.
The blaze broke out on the fourth floor of an office building in a busy district of the western city around 10am (local time), public broadcaster NHK said.
“Most of the people who lost their lives could be medical workers or patients at the clinic. This is unbearable,” said Yumiko Inoue, a doctor from a nearby hospital.
A man who looked in his 60s was seen carrying a bag that was leaking liquid into the clinic’s reception area before the fire started, NHK said, citing people close to the probe.
Twenty-four people were confirmed dead, NHK said. An official at Osaka city’s fire department earlier said that 27 people had suffered from cardiopulmonary arrest, the term used in Japan before a death is officially confirmed.
A doctor at one of the hospitals treating the victims said he believed many of them died after inhaling carbon monoxide as they had limited external injuries.