A fire broke out at an elementary school in Tokyo, injuring around 10 people, but all children and staff were evacuated safely, Japanese media reports said.
Thick black smoke billowed from a top-floor window after the blaze reportedly started in a music room at Takinogawa Dai-san School in the northern ward of Kita yesterday.
The blaze was extinguished after around three hours, with 75 fire engines and dozens of firefighters at the scene.
Most of the 10 injured suffered from smoke inhalation, Kyodo News reported, adding that four people had to be rescued from inside the school building.
An AFP journalist said helicopters flew overhead as parents rushed to pick up frightened children.
One witness told how children escaped out of windows to a concrete ledge below, before fire crews brought them to safety using ladders.
A child in the sixth grade described how she and her classmates, who were two rooms away from the music room, suddenly smelled smoke.
“We thought maybe someone was cooking... Then the siren went off,” she said.
She told how they ran down the stairs, covering their mouths with handkerchiefs, and evacuated to the school yard.
“Then we saw the music room already burning with flames. There’s a multi-purpose room next to it, and we heard a bang from around the area between the multi-purpose room and the music room.
“It was scary, and a lot of kids were crying,” she said.
A 11-year-old boy told Kyodo News that he heard people shouting “Run!” when he was in an English class. He said that, even though he was frightened, he repeated his teacher’s call for students to stay calm.
Television footage showed dozens of firefighters battling to bring the flames under control, spraying water from a playing field towards the mass of smoke. — AFP/AP
