13 dead in anime studio fire

Firefighters battle the blaze started by an arsonist at a three-story studio of Kyoto Animation Co in Kyoto, western Japan, on Thursday morning (Photo: Kyodo)
Firefighters battle the blaze started by an arsonist at a three-story studio of Kyoto Animation Co in Kyoto, western Japan, on Thursday morning (Photo: Kyodo)

KYOTO, Japan: Police said 13 people were believed dead inside a Kyoto anime studio after a fire started by an arsonist on Thursday morning. Dozens of others were reported injured.

The fire gutted the three-story animation studio of Kyoto Animation Co. A man started the blaze around 10.30am after spraying a liquid inside the building. 

The 41-year-old suspected arsonist was among the injured and had been taken to a hospital, the police said.

The police said some people witnessed the man screaming "Die" as he set the fire. They also found knives at the scene.

People near the site said they heard a series of explosions and saw a mass of black smoke coming out of the building. People were later seen being carried out of the site covered in blankets.

"A person with singed hair was lying down and there were bloody footprints," said a 59-year-old woman living nearby.

"I heard a bang and the black smoke and the burning smell was awful," said a bystander.

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Vocabulary

  • animation: a film or cartoon using a series of drawings that are shown quickly one after another so that they look as if they are moving (an animator is someone who creates animations) - ภาพเคลื่อนไหวได้, ภาพการ์ตูนที่เคลื่อนไหวได้
  • arsonist: a person who commits the crime of deliberately and illegally setting something on fire - ผู้ที่ลอบวางเพลิง
  • awful: very bad or unpleasant - น่ากลัว, แย่มาก
  • blanket: a thick cover made of wool or another material that you use to keep warm in bed - ผ้าห่ม
  • blaze: a fire - เพลิง
  • bystander: a person who is standing near and watching something that is happening but is not taking part in it - ผู้เห็นเหตุการณ์, ผู้สังเกตการณ์
  • explosion (noun): the sudden violent bursting and loud noise of something such as a bomb exploding; the act of deliberately causing something to explode - การระเบิด
  • gutted : burned completely from the inside out - ถูกไฟไหม้
  • knife (noun): a sharp blade with a handle, used for cutting or as a weapon - มีด
  • singed (adj): having a slightly burnt surface - ไหม้เล็กน้อย
  • spray (verb): to cover somebody/something with very small drops of a liquid that are forced out of a container or sent through the air - ฉีด, พ่น

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