A fire breaks out in a skyscraper in Osaka. It could become one of the worst fire disasters in Japan in decades.
Osaka – In the middle of the metropolis of Osaka, a fire broke out in a high-rise building. It is likely to be one of the most devastating high-rise fires in Japan in the last 20 years. The authorities expect more than 27 people to have died as a result of the fire.
The Japanese TV station NHK first reported on the high-rise fire in Osaka on Friday evening (local time). According to the broadcaster, 27 people who were rescued from the building were diagnosed with “cardiac arrest and respiratory arrest”. According to information from the dpa news agency, this formulation is a claused formulation that is used in Japan before the death of a person is officially confirmed.
Japan: high-rise fire in Osaka – authorities suspect arson
How the fire broke out in the Osaka skyscraper is still unclear. The fire was first discovered in the morning, local time, on the fourth floor of the house not far from a train station. As the police in the city suspected, it could have been arson. That in turn reports the Japanese news agency Kyodo, citing ongoing investigations. The building is eight stories high. There is a clinic on the fourth floor. The building also houses a textile shop, a beauty salon and a language school. The fire spread over an area of around 20 square meters, the reports said.
The fire in the high-rise building in Osaka has now been extinguished. Dozens of fire engines and ambulances were in large-scale use. After about 30 minutes, the emergency services reported that the fire was under control. Shortly afterwards, the authorities reported the high number of people involved in accidents and, in all likelihood, dead.
Fire in Osaka is one of the worst fire disasters in the country
Professor Ai Sekizawa from Tokyo University of Science, an expert on fire disasters, told NHK about a “shocking” accident that had occurred in Osaka. Since a fire disaster in Tokyo’s famous red-light district Kabukicho 20 years ago with 44 dead, there have not been so many victims in a fire disaster in Japan.
The inferno in a slot machine hall and a hostess club in the country’s capital that was very busy at the time was one of the worst fire disasters in the country’s post-war history. The people in the four-story accident building in Tokyo had become victims of blatant security deficiencies. (dil / dpa)
