TOKYO (Reuters) – At least 24 people were killed in a fire in the western Japanese city of Osaka on Friday, officials said. Investigative sources suspect that a 61-year-old man deliberately started the fire.
The blaze broke out at a clinic on the fourth floor of an eight-story building around 10:20 a.m. The suspect used to visit the clinic. Police are holding him responsible for the killings and arson.
Twenty-eight people were taken to hospital after the incident, which later confirmed the deaths of 14 men and 10 women between the ages of 20 and 60. According to reports, all the victims were present in the clinic, where psychiatric and mental illnesses were treated.
Police said eyewitnesses saw a man holding a paper bag with a solution near the heater in the waiting area. Eyewitnesses said the man tripped over the bag, which caused the solution to catch fire.
According to sources, the condition of the man is critical and he is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
About 30 minutes before the fire broke out in the clinic, a small fire broke out in the house of the said person three kilometers away from the scene. Police suspect that it was also a fire.
