Firefighters and army helicopters yesterday battled a fire that burned through a neighborhood of old wooden houses in a fishing town in southwestern Japan, killing one person, injuring another and forcing more than 170 people to evacuate in the country’s largest urban blaze in almost half a century.
Aerial footage from broadcasters showed houses reduced to rubble and thick plumes of smoke rising from the hilly Saganoseki district of Oita City, which overlooks a fishing harbor renowned for its premium Seki-brand mackerel on the main island of Kyushu.
A man in his 70s was unaccounted for and firefighters later found a body, possibly of the missing man, and a woman in her 50s sustained a minor injury, the Oita Prefecture disaster response team said.
Photo: Kyodo News via AP
Dozens of fire engines and more than 200 firefighters were mobilized to battle the fire, which was not still fully under control more than a day after it started.
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force dispatched two UH-1 army helicopters to assist.
It might take a few more days before the fire is completely extinguished, Oita Mayor Shinya Adachi told reporters after he visited the devastated neighborhood.
Photo: Takumi Sato, Kyodo News via AP
At least 170 homes have been damaged or burned down, the disaster response team said.
The fire started during strong winds on Tuesday evening, with the blaze spreading to a forest, affecting about 4.9 hectares, the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) said.
There was an advisory for strong wind when the fire broke out.
A firefighter told the Kyodo news agency that firefighting operation was hampered by narrow backstreets where fire engines could not enter.
There were also abandoned homes in the rapidly aging and shrinking neighborhood, Kyodo said.
The fires spread quickly as a strong wind was “blowing in all directions,” a 59-year-old office worker told Kyodo.
Authorities are still investigating the fire’s cause and how it spread, the FDMA said.
About 260 homes remained without electricity yesterday afternoon, Oita Prefecture said.
A resident told Kyodo that she quickly fled without many of her belongings, because the fire “spread in the blink of an eye.”
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to all residents who are evacuating in the cold,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wrote on X.
“The government will provide the maximum possible support in collaboration with local authorities,” she wrote.
The number of buildings and size of the area engulfed in flames made it the largest urban fire in Japan since a 1976 blaze in Sakata, excluding incidents caused by earthquakes.
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