More than 20 feared dead in fire in Osaka, Japan

Firefighters work at the scene, where twenty-seven people were feared dead after a blaze at a building in Osaka. Pic/AFP

More than 20 people were feared dead after a fire broke out Friday in a building in Osaka in western Japan, officials said, and police were investigating arson as a possible cause. The fire started on the fourth floor of an eight-story building in the major business, shopping and entertainment area of Kitashinchi, Osaka fire department official Akira Kishimoto said.

Twenty-seven people were found in a state of cardiac arrest and one other woman was injured, Kishimoto said. The woman was conscious and brought down by an aerial ladder from a window on the sixth floor and was being treated in a hospital. Later Friday, 19 people were pronounced dead and three others were resuscitated, NHK national television and other media reported. The cause of the fire and other details were not immediately known. Osaka police said they were investigating to determine whether the fire was caused by arson or accident.

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