33 die in ‘arson attack’ on Japan’s animation studio

TOKYO: A suspected arson attack on an animation production company in Japan killed 33 people and injured dozens more on Thursday, with flames gutting the building in the city of Kyoto.

Police said the fierce blaze appeared to have been started deliberately, but there was no immediate information on a possible motive. If arson is confirmed, the attack will be among the deadliest criminal acts in decades in Japan, where violent crime is very rare.

Hours after the blaze was brought under control, officials said at least 33 people were dead. Emergency workers retrieved bodies from the ground, first and second floor of the building housing Kyoto Animation. Several were also found on a stairwell leading to the roof. Officials said 36 people had been injured in the fire, 10 of whom were in serious condition.

"I saw people who were totally black or covered in blood, or who had suffered burns all over their body," a 53-year-old woman told the Kyodo news agency.

Around 70 people were believed to have been in the building when the blaze began, fire department officials said. The fire sent thick white smoke pouring from the building’s windows and left black charring on its facade. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took to Twitter to express his horror. "It’s so dreadful that I’m lost for words," he wrote. "I pray for those who passed away."