12 Presumed Dead, Dozens Injured in Suspected Arson at Japan Animation Studio

[harrybarracuda]

At least 12 people are presumed dead and more than 30 injured in a suspected arson attack at a famous production studio in Kyoto, Japan, authorities say. The suspect has been arrested by police while receiving treatment for his injuries at a hospital, and has reportedly admitted to the crime.

A man reportedly burst into the building and spread an unidentified liquid before setting off the blaze around 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning at a three-story studio of Kyoto Animation Co., a company known for producing popular Japanese TV animation series.

The Japan Times reports that about 10 people were found lying unconscious on the second floor and presumed dead, according to the police. Kyoto Fire Department official Satoshi Fujiwara told the AP that one person was confirmed dead due to severe burns, and 10 of those injured were in serious condition. Fire department officials say more than 70 people were in the building at the time of the fire, but most of them ran outside.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/house-kills-democratic-congressmans-bid-to-impeach-trump?ref=home

[misskit]

KYOTO - A suspected arson attack on an animation production company in Kyoto left at least 22 people dead or presumed dead and dozens more injured on Thursday.


Police said some people witnessed a 41-year-old man screaming “Die” as he set the fire at a studio of Kyoto Animation Co.



Police also found knives at the scene. The suspect, who was also injured, was taken to a local hospital.


About 70 people were believed to have been working when the fire broke out at around 10:35 a.m. Many bodies were found on the second floor of the structure.


There was no immediate information on a possible motive.


The toll continued to climb hours after the fire began, with fire department officials saying more bodies were being discovered as they searched the ravaged building.


People near the studio said they heard a series of explosions and saw black smoke billowing out of the building. People were later seen being carried out of the studio covered in blankets.


“A person with singed hair was lying down and there were bloody footprints,” said a 59-year-old woman who lives nearby.


“I heard a bang. The black smoke rose and the burning smell was awful,” said a hair salon manager in his 30s.


Footage of the blaze showed thick white smoke pouring from the windows of the three-story building. Its facade was charred black on much of one side where the flames had shot out of the windows.


Police said they were still investigating the cause of the fire but believe it was the result of arson.


“A man threw a liquid and set fire to it,” a Kyoto Prefectural Police spokesman said.


The company, also known as KyoAni, has produced “K-On!” and “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu” (“The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”), which depict the daily lives of high school girls, “A Silent Voice,” “Clannad” and “Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon” (“Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid”).


The blaze prompted an outpouring of support from those in Japan’s anime industry, one of the country’s best known cultural exports.


Twitter erupted in a flood of posts from around the world as anime fans sent messages of condolences for the victims and their families and prayers in Japanese and English. Many used the hashtag #PrayForKyoani.

“No, I don’t know what I should be thinking now,” tweeted Yutaka Yamamoto, an animation director who once worked at Kyoto Animation. “Why, why, why?”


Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also posted a message on Twitter: “So many people were killed or injured. It’s so appalling I can’t find a word to say.”


“I pray for … their souls.”


People convicted of deliberately setting fires in the country, where many people live in wooden houses, can face the death penalty.


A man convicted of setting a fire that killed 16 people in Osaka in 2008 is currently on death row.


Kyoto Animation has studios in Kyoto and nearby Uji, where it is headquartered. The fire occurred at its first studio, according to the company.


Founded in 1981, the firm has released a number of animations appealing to younger generations, particularly in the 2000s. Many fans have visited locations associated with the productions.


There was no immediate statement from the studio.


“We are in the process of learning what happened,” said a woman who answered the phone at the firm’s headquarters in the city of Uji.

“We cannot tell you anything more,” she added.


In Tokyo’s Akihabara district, where dozens of anime shops are located, some fans said they are worried about the future of the company.


“I really like KyoAni so I feel anxious,” said Kento Omura, 22, who is from Yamaguchi Prefecture.


“Their anime works are really beautifully and their stories are moving too,” he said.


https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.XTBFdcopChA

[misskit]

At Least 33 Dead in Arson Attack at Kyoto Animation Studio

An arson attack on Kyoto Animation in Japan on Thursday morning has led to at least 33 fatalities and left many more injured.


A 41-year-old man walked into the company's 1st Studio Building in Fujimi Ward, Kyoto City just after 10 a.m. and poured what is suspected to be gasoline around the building before setting fire to it. The suspect, who is also understood to be injured, was arrested by police and has reportedly admitted to the crime. His motive has yet to be determined, but he is reported to have shouted "die" as he set the fires. Early reports suggest he had no connection to the studio.



The police have stated at least 33 people are dead and more injured, with 36 more in hospital. Around 70 staff are understood to have been inside the studio at the time.


An explosion in the building, which is the main production facility for the company, was heard nearby. A professor of fire safety and materials told public broadcaster NHK that poor ventilation, an abundance of paper used by artists at the company and the large quantity of gasoline spread around the building by the attacker likely caused the fire to spread too quickly for people to escape.


A fire department spokesperson said they received calls reporting an explosion on the first floor and later calls in which people said, "The fire is rising, help us."


Thirty fire trucks and ambulances attended the scene and casualties have been taken to multiple hospitals in Kyoto.

Footage shot from public broadcaster NHK's helicopter showed smoke and fire damage on all of the building's three floors.


Kyoto Animation was founded in 1981, by producer Yoko Hatta and her husband Hideaki, has around 160 employees. It has an office in Tokyo and and a headquarters building in nearby Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a subsidiary Animation Do in Osaka, and is behind numerous features and TV Series, including K-ON!, Violet Evergarden: The Movie and A Silent Voice: The Movie.


"Why on earth did such violence have to be used?" company president Hatta asked, as he condemned the attack, according to the Associated Press. Hatta said his company has received seemingly random, anonymous death threats by emails in the past but responded "sincerely" each time. He refrained from link such threats to Thursday's attack, however.


Anime fans expressed anger, prayed and mourned for the victims at Kyoto Animation on social networks. A cloud-funding site also started up to help the company rebuilt.


Witnesses said they heard bangs coming from the building, others said they saw people coming out blackened, bleeding, walking barefoot, Kyodo News reported. Rescue officials set up an orange tent outside the studio building to provide first aid and sort the injured.


"There was an explosion, then I heard people shouting, some asking for help," a female witness told TBS TV. "Black smoke was rising from windows on upper floors, then there was a man struggling to crawl out of the window."


Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tweeted about the attack, describing it as "too awful for words," offering his condolences and praying for the speedy recovery of the survivors.


Violent crime is extremely rare in Japan and Thursday's attack is the worst mass murder in Japan's postwar history. The tragedy came just two months after a man went on a brutal knife attack in the Tokyo suburbs, stabbing 16 school girls, one of whom died along with an adult. In 2016, sixteen people were stabbed to death and more injured in a deadly stabbing spree at a Tokyo care home by a former employee. In both incidents, the perpetrators was found to be suffering from mental illnesses. Over 40 people died in a fire in the Kabukicho entertainment district of Shinjuku, central Tokyo in September 2001. Arson was suspected but no arrests were ever made.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...attack-1225232

[Norton]

12 Presumed Dead

At least 22 people presumed dead

At Least 33 Dead

When will the count be final. Just askin like ....

[harrybarracuda]

When will the count be final. Just askin like ....

When they've found all the bodies. Are you drunk or something?

[Norton]

The police have stated at least 33 people are dead and more injured, with 36 more in hospital. Around 70 staff are understood to have been inside the studio at the time.

When they've found all the bodies. Are you drunk or something?

Nope. Was a pre coffee 4:45 AM post.
69 accounted for out of approx 70 so maybe no more bodies to find.