Thread by @AFP

#BREAKING 27 feared dead in building fire in Japan's Osaka: media

#UPDATE

Public broadcaster NHK and other local media outlets said 27 people were in "cardio-respiratory arrest" after the blaze in a commercial district, which was extinguished after half an hour.

#UPDATE Twenty-seven people are feared dead after a blaze swept through a commercial building housing a mental health clinic in the Japanese city of Osaka on Friday, fire officials said.

u.afp.com/wTqW

#UPDATE At least 24 people were killed after a blaze gutted a mental health clinic in a commercial building in the Japanese city of #Osaka on Friday, local media said, with police reportedly considering the incident a possible arson u.afp.com/wTGx