At least 26 people are
dead and dozens injured after a suspected arson attack at an animation studio
in Kyoto, Japan, local emergency officials have said.
Local media quoted
police as saying a man broke into the Kyoto Animation Co studio on Thursday
morning. Police say the suspect, a 41-year-old, sprayed petrol before igniting
it.
Some people still
remain unaccounted for, broadcaster NHK reported.
The suspect has been
detained and was taken to hospital with injuries.
Japan's Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe said the incident was "too appalling for words" and
offered condolences to those affected.
How did the incident unfold?
The fire broke out at
the three-storey building at around 10:30 local time (01:35 GMT) on Thursday.
Rescue operations are still ongoing.
Police also found
knives at the scene, say local media.
NHK said the man had
been heard saying "drop dead" as he set fire to the building.
It is unclear if the
suspect had any relationship with the company.
Eyewitnesses described
a loud explosion followed by an inferno that rapidly engulfed the building.
"I saw some
people with burns, covered with something. They were rushed to the
ambulance," one neighbour said.
Firefighters found 10
of the victims on the stairs linking the second floor to the roof and it is
feared more victims could still be on the top floor.
"Several other
people appeared to have failed to escape on the second floor," a fire
department spokesman told AFP.
Japanese officials
said the victims were dead or "in cardio-pulmonary arrest" - a
formulation routinely used in Japan for victims who have died but whose deaths
have not yet been officially confirmed.
Some 36 people are in
hospital, some in a critical condition, reports say. About 70 people were in
the building when the fire started, fire officials say.
Who is the suspect?
Latest reports say the
man is not a former employee and does not have any obvious connection to the
studio.
Japanese newspaper
reports said the suspect ran away from the building towards a nearby station
after the fire started but fell to the ground.
Some of the reports
said he was pursued by employees of Kyoto Animation.
"A person with
singed hair was lying down and there were bloody footprints," a
59-year-old woman living nearby told news agency Kyodo.
"He seemed to be
in pain, irritated and suffering, but also angry as if he was resentful,"
a neighbour said.
The suspect was
injured and was being treated in hospital, so police could not immediately
question him, broadcaster NHK said.
What do we know about
the studio?
Kyoto Animation, known
as KyoAni, was founded in 1981 and has produced popular animation shows
including "K-On" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya".
The studio also
released a standalone feature anime A Silent Voice in 2016.
One of KyoAni's
series, Evergarden, was picked up by Netflix for a global market.
It also publishes many
popular graphic novels mainly about teenage school life.
The studio is also
known for paying its animators a regular salary, breaking with the industry's
standard of paying per frame which is seen as putting extreme pressure on
staff.
How have fans reacted?
Japanese anime has a
huge following not just in Japan but around the world.
On social media, many
fans have been expressing their shock and posting pictures of their favourite
KyoAni shows.
A Go Fund Me campaign
titled "Help Kyo Ani Heal" has also been started, with more than
$130,000 (£105,000) raised in three hours.
Voiceover artist
SungWon Cho - who works on anime films - was among those to react.
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