Mental Hospital Fire In Japan
(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) TOKYO, June 18. A pre-dawn fire in a mental hospital at Ichikawa today killed 18 male patients who had been locked in their wards for the night. Police said the fire was caused by a short circuit. Within minutes it raced through four wings of the rambling wooden structure, 30 miles east of Tokyo. The 18 victims were trapped in one corner. “It was terrible.” said a night nurse. “They were screaming and crying and beating on the walls and we couldn’t get to them.” Firemen put out the blaze in an hour and a half. A total of 158 patients were in the hospital when the fire broke out. Those evacuated milled about in confusion until they were removed to nearby hospitals or returned to rooms in the undamaged portion of the burned hospital. Nine patients disappeared. but seven later returned to the hospital.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27690, 21 June 1955, Page 8
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153Mental Hospital Fire In Japan Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27690, 21 June 1955, Page 8
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