BBC Tokyo blast kills 44

Police and firefighters took the injured to hospital An explosion which sparked a fire in a building in a busy Tokyo entertainment district has killed at least 44 people. with others critically injured in hospital.

It is unclear what caused the blast which went off about 0100 on Saturday (1600GMT Friday) in the popular Kabukicho entertainment district near Shinjuku railway station.

Police now believe that they have rescued everyone who was in the building, which houses a mahjong gaming parlour, sex clubs and several restaurants.

People found it hard to flee the fire, because there were few windows and only one entrance to the building.

Cause unknown

Police said the explosion ripped a hole measuring 1.5 metres by 50 centimentres (five feet by 1.5 feet) in the wall of the building.

It was unknown what had caused the blast, which apparently happened after an employee in the mahjong parlour opened a door on the third floor of the building.

Witnesses said they heard a loud bang, and smoke started emerging from the building.

People in the parlour fled to the roof, as the fire spread through the third and fourth floors.

The top two floors

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001