At least 33 have been confirmed dead and more than 35 injured after a suspected arsonist set fire to the Japanese anime studio Kyoto Animation. According to NHK International, the fire was set ablaze on the morning of Thursday, July 18.
Firefighters are still working on to put out the blaze, as the Japanese TV news reports that there are still people trapped in the studio and that there are at least 20 people still missing. Authorities believe that the fire was caused by a 40-year-old suspect who doused the studio with gasoline and set it on fire. The suspect has been apprehended and is in the custody of the police.
The incident began at 10:30 am local time and witnesses report that a man screamed “die” as he set the studio on fire. It is not clear what the motive of the suspected arsonist was. Reports also confirm that the suspect is not a former employee and does not have any obvious connection to the studio. Some Japanese newspaper reports say that the suspect ran away from the building towards a nearby station after setting fire to the studio but fell to the ground.
Eyewitnesses also report that a loud explosion followed by a large inferno rapidly engulfed the building. The fire spread and affected three floors of the Kyoto Animation studio building and endangered the lives of all the workers inside. According to NHK, more than 35 people have been taken to the hospital for serious injurious.
Kyoto Animation is an anime studio that is known for producing anime such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. It has also worked on Super Mario Bros: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! which is an animated film released exclusively in Japan.
Updates:
- The number of deaths has been increased from the previously mentioned 23, to 33 confirmed deaths and 35 injured.
- The suspected arsonist has confessed to starting the fire to the police. The suspect was also heavily burned in the attack.
- The suspect was also heard saying: “[They] stole [my] novel, so I committed arson, according to the Kyoto Newspaper.
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