According to an interview with an investigative official, it is believed that a 61-year-old man who attended a clinic ignited a fire that killed 24 people in a building in a downtown area of ​​Kita-ku, Osaka on the 17th.

The man is being taken to the hospital for treatment.



On the other hand, police are investigating the connection with the incident because there was a blur at the man's home just before.

Around 10:20 am on the 17th, a fire broke out at the "Workers' Nishi Umeda Mind and Body Clinic", a clinic specializing in psychosomatic medicine and psychiatry on the 4th floor of an 8-story building in Sonezakishinchi, Kita-ku, Osaka. There were 28 people taken to the hospital, of which 24 died.



There are 14 men and 10 women, and although their identities have not been confirmed, they are believed to be in their 20s and 60s, and at the time of the fire, they were all in the clinic on the 4th floor.



Also, regarding the other four, three were unconscious during transportation and the other was slightly injured.



According to police, a man with a paper bag entered the clinic's waiting room, placed a paper bag near the heater and kicked it down, and was witnessed that the liquid leaked and burned, resulting in murder and arson. The investigation headquarters was set up on suspicion.



According to investigators, the man is believed to be a 61-year-old patient living in Nishiyodogawa Ward, Osaka, who attended the clinic, and was taken to a hospital for treatment, but his condition is quite dangerous.



Also, at the man's home, about 3 kilometers away from the scene of the fire, there was a blur that was thought to have been caused by arson at about 9:45 am, about 30 minutes ago.



The police are investigating the relationship with the incident and will proceed with the investigation by conducting on-site inspections on the 18th.

A female in her 60s who lives nearby "I thought it was a vacant house without a neighborhood relationship"

A woman in her 60s who lives near the house of a man who seems to have lit a fire said, "People who started seeing me a month ago were riding bicycles in their 50s and 60s. I thought the house was vacant. "



Approximately 30 minutes before the fire, a ghost broke out in the man's house, and after the fire extinguishing, the woman looked inside the house. There was. "



Also, before 8 am before the two fires, I saw him touching the key to the door of his house, but it didn't seem to have changed.

A woman in her 80s who lives nearby "I saw her go out by bicycle four or five days ago."

A woman in her 80s who lives near the house of a man who seems to have lit a fire said, "A person about 60 years old goes out on a bicycle from the bicycle storage next to this house before 9 am four or five days ago. I saw the situation. "



I thought that this house was vacant because it had no electricity for a long time, so when I asked "Did you move?", He said "Yes" and answered.



Just before the fire in a downtown building, the woman said that there was a ghost in the house, "There was no fire, there was smoke. I heard that I don't know the cause." ..

Osaka City Fire Department Emergency on-site inspection

Following a fire in a building in a downtown area of ​​Kita-ku, Osaka, the Osaka City Fire Department has begun an urgent on-site inspection of a building that also has an evacuation route at one of the indoor stairs.



By the end of December, the inspection will be conducted on about 5480 buildings in the city, so it will be checked whether there are any objects in the evacuation route and whether fire extinguishers and guide lights are properly installed. I'm going to confirm.