The video caught a building on fire.

An explosion was heard as well.

Dotonbori, a tourist destination which sits in the heart of Osaka, was covered in thick smoke on August 18. Debris fell from above during firefighting efforts.

Shortly before 10AM, emergency services received a call saying that fire was coming out of another building. A fire broke out in a building housing that houses restaurants, and more than 60 fire trucks were dispatched to the scene.

Person who works nearby / Police came rushing and they told us to evacuate, that it was going to explode. Then we all evacuated.

Person who works nearby / The stores are close to each other and there are many old buildings. Fire can spread and it’s scary.

The camera caught firefighters working inside the bui ding trying to extinguish the fire.

According to officials, two male firefighters, aged 55 and 22 who were involved in the firefighting efforts, were confirmed dead after being transported to hospital.

A woman who was dining at a nearby building and three other firefighters were also taken to the hospital by ambulance.

The area where the fire broke out is full of shopping streets and com   mercial facilities.

The fire spread from the building believed to be the source of the fire, which was over 50 years old, to adjacent buildings. The fire burned a total of 110 square meters in about three hours before it was extinguished.

The former chief of  Tokyo Fire Department’s Azabu Fire Station said that firefighting in commercial districts that are packed with buildings is particularly difficult.

Former chief of Azabu Fire Station, Tokyo Fire Department / Judging from the water discharge, it was being sprayed upward from the ground. It is difficult to extinguish the fire like that. Building fires that ladder trucks cannot approach are extremely difficult to extinguish.

He said that one reason it took so long to extinguish the fire was that the ladder trucks could not reach the site.

Police are investigating the cause of the fire.