27 Feared Dead in Suspected Arson at Office Building in Japan
The New York Times
The fire consumed the fourth floor of the building in Osaka, which housed a medical office.
TOKYO — Twenty-seven people were feared dead in a fire on Friday that burned through the fourth floor of a busy office building in downtown Osaka, the largest city in western Japan. The police were investigating the possibility of arson.
The fire was first reported around 10:20 a.m. and was put out a little more than 20 minutes later. Rescue workers were seen carrying people out of the building on stretchers, the national broadcaster, NHK, reported. There was one survivor, the broadcaster said.
The blaze burned an approximately 200-square-foot area of the eight-story building, located next to the biggest train station in the port city. The fourth floor, where the fire is believed to have begun, was home to a medical clinic specializing in internal medicine and psychiatry.
