Dozens feared dead in building fire in Osaka

Police and firefighters gather near a building where a fire broke out in Osaka, western Japan. Picture: Kyodo News via AP

Twenty-seven people are feared dead after a fire broke out in a building in Osaka in western Japan, fire department officials said.

The fire started on the fourth floor of an eight-storey building in the shopping and entertainment area of Kitashinchi, Osaka city fire department official Akira Kishimoto said.