Japan: At least 27 killed in Osaka psychiatric clinic arson

Osaka police, who had previously been suspected of setting fire after a fire earlier today at a psychiatric clinic in a downtown building that killed 27 people, took testimony from an eyewitness who said he had set it on fire. The elderly man, according to Kyodo news agency, quoted sources close to the investigation; the Yomiuri newspaper, also citing police sources, said the man was carrying a bag of flammable liquid inside the clinic, which then spilled and caught fire.

“Twenty-seven people are in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest,” a spokesman for the fire brigade said earlier, referring to Japanese authorities as referring to deaths that have not yet been officially confirmed by a doctor or forensic pathologist. A 28th victim was pulled out injured.

So far, three deaths have been officially confirmed in hospitals, according to the Japanese television network MBS.

The fire broke out “at 10:18 (local time; at 03:18 Greek time) on the fourth floor of an eight-storey building” where offices and shops have businesses, according to the representative of the fire department. He clarified that the fire could be extinguished within half an hour after its forces arrived on the spot.

The clinic had opened a little earlier, at 10:00 (03:00).

Japanese television networks broadcast footage showing dozens of firefighters at work, inside and in front of the narrow building, the damaged floor of which can be seen from the outside, as its windows are broken and blackened by the smoke that continues to rise from it. from the roof.

A strong fire brigade with 70 vehicles was deployed on the spot.

In downtown Osaka, the building also houses, among other things, a beauty salon, a clothing store and an English school, according to the Japanese public television network NHK.

A young eyewitness told public television that he saw a woman hanging from a window as she begged for help. “He was shouting ‘please, help me’ (…) He seemed to have no strength. He must have inhaled a large amount of smoke,” he said.

“There was a lot of black smoke (…), the smell is still very strong,” said a middle-aged woman, another eyewitness.

Osaka, a major economic hub, is Japan’s second largest metropolis after the capital, Tokyo.

Deadly fires in buildings are rather rare in Japan, where very strict urban planning regulations apply. While violent crimes are also recorded rather rarely in the archipelago.

However, a year ago a man was prosecuted for serial and intentional homicides as he is accused of setting fire to an anime studio in Kyoto in July 2019, when 36 people lost their lives. It was the deadliest crime in Japan in decades.

In 2008, a video club arson attack in Osaka claimed the lives of 16 people. The perpetrator was sentenced to death.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ