A horrific incident took place at dawn local time in Japan when an elderly man set fire to a mental hospital in Osaka city, resulting in the deaths of a total of 27 people.
As reported by Kyodo news agency, citing sources close to the ongoing investigation, Osaka police were informed by an eyewitness that the case involved arson which was actually carried out by an elderly man. The Yomiuri newspaper reported that the man carried a bag of flammable liquid into the clinic which he then poured and set on fire.
"Twenty-seven people are in cardiopulmonary arrest," a fire department spokesman said earlier, using the terminology of Japanese authorities when referring to deaths that have yet to be officially determined by a doctor or coroner. A 28th victim was recovered injured. So far three deaths have been officially confirmed in hospitals, according to Japanese TV network MBS.
The fire broke out "at 10:18 (local time; at 03:18 GMT) on the fourth floor of an eight-story building" where offices and shops have businesses, according to a fire department spokesman. He explained that the fire was able to be extinguished within half an hour after firefighters arrived on the scene. The clinic had opened a few hours 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, whose damaged floor can be seen from the outside as its windows are broken and blackened by smoke that continues to rise from it and the roof.
A strong fire brigade force of 70 vehicles was deployed on the spot. In downtown Osaka, the building in question also houses a beauty salon, a clothing store and an English learning school, among others, public Japanese television network NHK reported.
A young eyewitness told public television that she saw a woman hanging from a window as she pleaded for help. "She was screaming 'please help me' () She seemed to have no strength. She had probably inhaled a large amount of smoke," he said.</B-20
"There was a lot of black smoke () coming out, still the smell is very strong," said middle-aged, another eyewitness. Osaka, a major economic hub, is Japan's second-largest metropolis after the capital, Tokyo. Fatal building fires are rather rare in Japan, where very strict urban planning regulations are enforced. While violent crimes are also recorded rather rarely in the archipelago.However, a year ago a man was indicted for serial and intentional homicide as he is the accused in the July 2019 arson at an anime studio in Kyoto when 36 people died. It was the deadliest crime in Japan in decades. In 2008, the video store arson in Osaka had claimed the lives of 16 people. The perpetrator was sentenced to death.Source: First Issue
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Sourcehttps://cyprustimes.com/kosmos/frik...psychiatreio-kai-skotose-27-anthropoys-video/
