170 homes damaged as fire burns through neighbourhood in Japan

Flames rise from the site of a fire in Oita, southern Japan (Kyodo News via AP)

Firefighters and army helicopters have been battling a blaze that burned through a neighbourhood in south-western Japan, killing one person, injuring another and forcing more than 170 people to evacuate.

A man in his 70s was unaccounted for and firefighters later found a body, possibly of the missing man, and a woman in her 50s suffered a minor injury, the local disaster response team said.