Dec 17, 2021 - World

At least 24 dead in Osaka from suspected arson attack

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Firefighters working outside of an office building in Osaka, Japan, where a fire broke out on Dec. 17. — Firefighters working outside of an building in Osaka, Japan, where a fire broke out on Dec. 17. Photo: Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images

At least 24 people died after a fire broke out in an eight-story building in downtown Osaka, Japan, on Friday, according to AP.

The big picture: Police are treating the blaze as a possible case of arson. The fire originated in a mental and internal medicine clinic on the fourth floor of the building.

It was one of the deadliest fires Japan has seen in the last two decades, the Washington Post reports. A 2001 blaze in Tokyo's Shinjuku district left 44 people dead. In 2019, an arson attack on an animation studio killed 36.

Details: Fire officials responding at the scene found 27 people incapacitated. At least three of them were resuscitated but are in serious condition.

Many of the victims were believed to have been visiting the clinic at the time.
Fire officials rescued several people on other floors of the building.

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At least 24 dead in Osaka from suspected arson attack

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