Two firefighters were killed and four others injured in a building fire on Monday in Osaka's Dotombori shopping district, local police and firefighters said.
The fire started in a building in the western Japan city's popular tourist spot and spread to an adjacent structure. The firefighters were trapped inside and taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. The local fire department received an emergency call reporting the fire at around 9.50am (7.50am Thailand time).
Three other firefighters and a woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to the hospital, according to the Osaka prefectural police.
Black smoke was seen spewing from the building, located close to the famous Glico neon billboard, with crowds of passersby and tourists stopping to watch firefighters' attempts to extinguish the blaze.
A man who works in a nearby ramen shop said he rushed outside after police warned him about the blaze.
The fire started in a building in the western Japan city's popular tourist spot and spread to an adjacent structure. The firefighters were trapped inside and taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. The local fire department received an emergency call reporting the fire at around 9.50am (7.50am Thailand time).
Three other firefighters and a woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to the hospital, according to the Osaka prefectural police.
Black smoke was seen spewing from the building, located close to the famous Glico neon billboard, with crowds of passersby and tourists stopping to watch firefighters' attempts to extinguish the blaze.
A man who works in a nearby ramen shop said he rushed outside after police warned him about the blaze.
