27 feared dead in building fire in Osaka

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Twenty-seven people are feared dead after a fire broke out in a building in Osaka in western Japan, fire department officials say, and police are investigating arson as a possible cause. The fire started on the fourth floor of an eight-story building in a shopping and entertainment area on Friday, the Osaka city fire department said. Twenty-eight people were affected, 27 of whom were found in a state of cardiac arrest, officials said. All of them have since been taken to nearby hospitals. The cause of the fire and other details were not immediately known.