Twenty-four people were confirmed dead after a fire broke out in a psychiatric clinic building in Japan’s Osaka on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
The fire was erupted in an eight-story multiple tenant building in a bustling area of Osaka, with murder and arson suspected, Kyodo news agency quoted the police as saying.
The fire started on the fourth floor of the building located near JR Osaka Station and was extinguished by around 10.18 a.m. (local time), which had no fire sprinklers, Kyodo news agency quoted the local fire department as saying.
A total of 28 people were injured, the outlet added.
A man, believed to be in his 50s or 60s, who visited the clinic on that floor was responsible for the blaze, adding he was one of the 28 taken to hospital, police told the outlet.
It remained unclear if the man was among the dead.
Based on the information provided by witnesses, the police told the outlet that the man placed a paper bag containing a liquid near a heater in the clinic’s reception area. They said he then kicked the bag, igniting the fire when the liquid flowed out.
17 men and 10 women, who were rescued from the floor, were showing no signs of life, the fire department told the outlet.
Of the 27, 14 men and 10 women believed to be aged in their 20s to 60s were later pronounced dead, the outlet reported citing the police. Police were trying to confirm their identities.
The blaze, with flames and smoke billowing out of shattered windows, was nearly extinguished by around 10:45 a.m. after burning an area of around 25 square meters, a third of the clinic’s floor space.
The website of the clinic located near JR Osaka Station says it provides psychosomatic and psychiatric treatments.
The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained.
(With inputs from agencies)
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