More than 20 feared dead in building fire in Osaka

Tokyo : More than 20 people were feared dead after a fire broke out Friday in a building in Osaka in western Japan, fire department officials said, and police were investigating arson as a possible cause.
The fire started on the fourth floor of an eight-story building in the shopping and entertainment area of Kitashinchi, Osaka city fire department official Akira Kishimoto said.
All of the victims were taken to nearby hospitals. Five people have been pronounced dead and three others were resuscitated, NHK national television and other media reported, but Japanese authorities declined to confirm those reports.
Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura offered condolences to those who died in the fire.
I’m praying so that as many lives as possible can be saved, he said.
The building houses an internal medicine clinic, an English language school and other businesses. Many of the victims are believed to be visitors at the clinic on the fourth floor, fire department officials said.