Blaze kills 11 in welfare dormitory

TOKYO - Eleven people died in a fire at a welfare facility for the elderly and people with special needs on Wednesday night in the northernmost prefecture of Sapporo, local police said on Thursday.

A total of 16 residents were staying at the center when the fire broke out in the three-storey building at 11:40 pm local time.

More than 40 fire engines were dispatched to the blaze and it took firefighters 12 hours to extinguish the flames, which left the old, wooden building completely gutted.

The fire was finally put out just before midday on Thursday, fire officials said.

The officials said that 11 people were killed, with seven victims found on the ground floor and four on the second floor. No one was living on the third floor, the officials said.

The victims were between 40 and 80 years old, authorities said.

First responders managed to rescue five people from the fire at the facility in Sapporo City.

Three people, according to local media, are receiving treatment in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police and firefighters are still trying to determine the exact cause of the blaze. According to fire officials, a central area on the ground floor of the facility was the most severely burned.

The rooms each had a smoke alarm, but were not equipped with sprinklers as they are required by law.

No legal violations were found in an inspection in December 2016.

Xinhua

(China Daily 02/02/2018 page12)