Man With ‘Leaking Bag’ Seen Before Blaze Kills 27 at Japanese Psychiatry Clinic
POSSIBLE ARSON
A catastrophic fire at a psychiatry clinic in Japan that reportedly left dozens of people dead could have been started on purpose, police have said. A fire ripped through a psychiatry clinic in the city of Osaka on Friday, with Reuters reporting that 27 people died. Public broadcaster NHK reported that a man in his sixties was seen carrying a bag that was leaking an unknown liquid into the clinic’s reception area before the fire began. Footage showed smoke billowing out of the windows before the fire was extinguished within 30 minutes. An eyewitness told Kyodo News: “When I looked outside, I saw orange flames in the fourth-floor window of the building. A woman was waving her hands for help from the sixth-floor window.” Reuters reported that police are investigating the fire as possible arson.