33 people died and several got injured after one person set fire to an anime studio in Kyoto, Japan, stated Japanese officials.
According to the police report, the 41-year-old suspect broke into the Kyoto Animation studio on Thursday and sprayed petrol before he set it on fire. After that, the person was hospitalized due to injuries from the fire.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the incident was too appalling for words and offered condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives.
BBC News reported that the fire broke out at the three-story building at around 10:30 local time on Thursday. Rescue operations are still ongoing. Police also found knives at the scene, according to local media. NHK said that the man had been heard saying “drop-dead’’ as he set fire to the building. The suspect’s relationship with the company is unclear.
Witnesses of the situation said that there was a large explosion and after that, a huge fire quickly engulfed the whole building.
“I saw some people with burns, covered with something. They were rushed to the ambulance,’’ said one of the witnesses.
The victims were dead or in cardio-pulmonary arrest (a state which Japanese people use for victims who have died but their deaths were not officially confirmed), said Japanese officials.
Somewhere around 35 people are in hospital with some of them being in a critical condition. More than 70 people were in the building when the fire started.
Several people described the suspect as one woman who lives near the studio said: “A person with singed hair was lying down and there were bloody footprints.’’
“He seemed to be in pain, irritated and suffering, but also angry as if he was resentful. I heard him saying something like ‘you copied it’,’’ said another person.
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