Suspect bought gasoline last month, say cops

Tragic incident: Mourners praying in front of offerings near the building where the fire broke out in Osaka. — AP

TOKYO: A 61-year-old man suspected of starting a fire that killed 24 people last week in an Osaka clinic bought 10 litres of gasoline at a petrol station last month, but it was not known whether the fuel was used in the blaze, police said.

Security camera footage from the psychiatry clinic in Osaka, western Japan, shows the fire broke out on Friday morning after the suspect carried two bags of liquid into the clinic and set the liquid on fire, an Osaka police official said yesterday.