19 People Killed In Building Fire In Osaka Japan

Ilustrasi pemadam kebakaran. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eddie Harrison)

JAKARTA - Nineteen people have been confirmed dead after a fire broke out in a building in Osaka on Friday, investigative sources said, showing police suspect an arsonist was responsible.

The local fire department received a report at around 10:20 a.m. local time, the fire broke out on the fourth floor of an eight-story building located near JR Osaka Station.

The fire department said the fire was extinguished at around 10:45 local time, after scorching an area of about 20 square meters, the fire department said.

The fire is thought to have started in a medical clinic on the fourth floor of the building. The clinic's website says it provides psychosomatic and psychiatric care.

Investigative sources said reports of "a man starting a fire" in the building in Kita Ward in the western Japanese city. From the fourth floor of the building, 17 men and 10 women, all showing no signs of life, were taken out, according to firefighters.

Police were also told that the fire had started from liquid that had spread from a paper bag being held by a man who appeared to be in his 60s, according to the source.

"When I looked outside (from my nearest office), I saw orange flames in the window on the fourth floor of the building. A woman waved from the window on the sixth floor and called for help," said an eye witness, citing Kyodo News Dec. 17.

Another person working at a nearby restaurant said, "I saw smoke coming out of the building and there were lots of fire trucks and ambulances. People were being rescued by fire trucks with ladders. At one point, there was a power cut in the area."

The incident took place in the Kitashinchi District, Osaka, where a number of bars and nightclubs are located.

To deal with the incident, around 70 fire trucks and ambulances arrived at the scene while onlookers watched anxiously as rescue efforts were carried out.