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Elderly woman hurt leaping from burning building in Nihonbashi

Four persons were injured after a fire broke out in a building in the Nihonbashi area of Chuo Ward on Wednesday
Four persons were injured after a fire broke out in a building in the Nihonbashi area of Chuo Ward on Wednesday (TV Asahi)

TOKYO (TR) – An elderly woman was injured after she leaped from a building in Chuo Ward that caught fire on Wednesday, the Tokyo Fire Department said, reports NHK (Oct. 4).

At around 11:00 a.m., the blaze erupted inside the second floor of the seven-floor building, located near Tokyo Metro’s Mitsukoshimae Station in the Nihonbashi area.

At total of 27 fire trucks arrived at the scene to extinguish the fire, which burned about 20 square meters of the building.

In attempting to flee to safety, the elderly woman, 75, hurt her back after she jumped from the sixth floor of the burning building to an adjacent structure. Meanwhile, a 37-year-old man leaped to safety from the second floor without incident.

Three other persons suffered various injuries, including smoke inhalation. The victims were sent to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. A total of 30 people either fled the building or were rescued by a hook-and-ladder truck.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, the department said.