Massive Fire in City of Oita Largely Brought Under Control

Oita, Nov. 20 (Jiji Press)–A large-scale fire that broke out in the Saganoseki district of the southwestern Japan city of Oita on Tuesday has been brought under control, excluding on a nearby uninhabited island, the local fire department said Thursday. “We’ll continue firefighting efforts with the aim of suppressing the fire by the end of the day,” Kiichiro Sato, governor of Oita Prefecture, said at a meeting of the prefectural government’s disaster response headquarters Thursday morning. Also in the morning, the governor visited a facility where 108 people are taking shelter. According to the headquarters and other sources, helicopters of the Self-Defense Forces and the city of Fukuoka in neighboring Fukuoka Prefecture joined the local authorities’ efforts to extinguish the fire. One person has been found dead so far, with the Oita prefectural police working to identify the individual who may be a missing man in his 70s. The fire has claimed over 170 homes and other buildings, burning through an area totaling 48,900 square meters. It has also spread to the uninhabited island located nearby. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]