5 Killed in Temple Fire in Yamaguchi Prefecture

Yamaguchi, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–A fire at a Buddhist temple and two nearby buildings in the city of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the small hours of Friday resulted in the deaths of five people, according to local police and fire authorities. At around 2:25 a.m., a neighbor of Shorinji temple in the Toyoura-cho Kawatana district of the city reported fire and smoke to authorities. Firefighters put out the blaze about three hours later, but five bodies were found in the ruins. According to the Shimonoseki fire department, a woman made an emergency call seeking help a few minutes before the neighbor’s report. Yamaguchi prefectural police are investigating the cause of the fire and confirming the identities of the victims. Five people who are believed to be residents–an 89-year-old man, a man in his 50s, a woman in her 40s, a boy in his 10s and a girl under the age of 10–are unaccounted for. A 71-year-old woman who lives near the temple was sleeping when the fire broke out, and she awoke to a loud noise. “Red flames were rising high from the temple,” she said. “Lots of sparks fell in front of my house, and I thought it was all over for me.” “Shorinji provides services to most people around here,” a 78-year-old woman also living near the temple said, expressing worry about how to perform memorial services for deceased loved ones after the temple suffered the fire. The temple is located in a residential area some 1.3 kilometers northwest of West Japan Railway Co.’s Kawatanaonsen Station. According to the Shimonoseki Meteorological Office, a dry weather advisory had been issued in Yamaguchi Prefecture since Wednesday morning. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]