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2 firefighters dead in fire in Osaka’s Dotonbori tourist district

A massive fire in Osaka’s Minami District, near Dotonbori, killed two firefighters last Monday (18 Aug) morning.

The fire started in a multi-tenant building along the Ebisu River, near tourist spots such as the Glico running man billboard, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

Videos of the incident show a tall blaze and billowing black smoke coming from a building next to the Don Quijote Dotonbori with its yellow Ferris wheel.

Source: 988 on Facebook

Fire spread to adjacent building

An employee at a nearby store reportedly contacted emergency services at around 9.50am after seeing flames near the first floor of a building.

The local fire department promptly sent 51 fire trucks and one helicopter to the scene.

It took them about three hours to extinguish the fire, which burned 110 square meters of space.

Source: Japan Shorts on Facebook

This includes the basement to the third floor of the establishment, and the fifth and sixth floors of an adjacent building.

Four people sent to hospital

Two firefighters, aged 22 and 55, were found on the sixth floor of the building and were confirmed dead at the hospital

They had been trapped in the building while trying to extinguish the flames.

Three other firefighters and a female customer at a restaurant in the adjacent building were also taken to the hospital after inhaling smoke.

Fortunately, all four were not in danger, Japan Today reported.

The local police and fire departments are investigating the exact cause of the incident.

Also read: Man in Taiwan gets electrocuted after climbing power tower, sparks wildfire on mountain

Man in Taiwan gets electrocuted after climbing power tower, sparks wildfire on mountain

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