Bodies found piled on staircase as Japan's worst mass killing in decades claims 33 lives

Grim details are starting to emerge from Japan's worst mass killing in almost 20 years, as police investigate why a man torched a renowned animation studio in Kyoto, killing 33 people.

The suspected arson attack on Kyoto Animation on Thursday has left anime fans world-over grieving the loss of life and a studio, which claimed to put its employees first and was a major force in the industry.

Twelve men, 20 women and another individual whose gender was unknown died in the blaze and 35 were injured.

After dousing flames, firefighters entered the building Thursday morning and found 20 bodies lying on the staircase leading to the third floor. Another team found 11 bodies on the second floor of the building and two on the ground floor.

Police said that 74 people were inside the building, in Kyoto's Fushimi-ku district, at the time of the blaze, including employees of the company.

The attack was the worst mass killing in the country since a 2001 arson attack on a building in Tokyo's Kabukicho district, which killed 44 people. The death toll from Thursday's fire was greater than the Tokyo sarin gas attack on a subway in 1995, which killed 13.

Anime fans and mourners Friday began visiting the building and laid flowers in tribute to those who had lost their lives.

"I was so encouraged by the KyoAni works," said one young fan, calling the studio by its popular name. "I have no words to say in sorrow."

A woman pays her respects next to flowers and tributes laid at the scene of the Kyoto Animation fire.

On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe added his voice to the outpouring of grief on Twitter, saying that he was left speechless at the "gruesomeness of the crime," and offered condolences to victims.

Explosion-like sound

The fire started at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio at 10:30 a.m. local time on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET) after a 41-year-old suspect began pouring what appeared to be gasoline on the first floor of the studio before setting it alight.

Police said a local resident reported hearing an explosion-like sound coming from the building around the time the fire broke out.

A witness told police the suspect shouted "Die!" as he spilled the unidentified liquid. The man was later found to be carrying a backpack containing several knives, according to the Kyoto police.

Another eyewitness told CNN affiliate TV Asahi that the suspect said, "They plagiarized," when the police officer who detained him asked for a motive.

Officers were not able to question the suspect Thursday as he was receiving treatment for severe burns sustained during the attack.

Footage from the scene Thursday showed thick smoke billowing out of the four-story building, which is located in a residential area several kilometers south of Kyoto Station. It took four hours for firefighters to bring the blaze under control.

Fire department officials confirmed that the building abided by fire prevention regulations.

'A terrible loss for both humanity and art'

Kyoto Animation's CEO Hideaki Yata told reporters the company had received death threats by mail, which had been sent to the police, and expressed sorrow that workers in the industry had been targeted.

"They are the people who carry the Japan's animation industry on their shoulders. I can't bear to accept the fact they are being hurt or losing their lives," he said.

Founded in 1981, Kyoto Animation -- known as KyoAni -- has made a name for itself producing high quality animations that draw on both the mystical and the mundane.

Among Japan's better-known studios, its popular works include "Free!," manga series "K-On!," the anime TV adaptation of "the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and "Violet Evergarden," which Netflix picked up in 2018.

On its website, the company said its philosophy included promoting a "humanitarian" corporate culture and "promoting the growth of people."

The fire started at about 10:30 a.m. local time on Thursday.

Writing for CNN, Susan Napier, Goldthwaite Professor of Rhetoric and Japanese Studies at Tufts University, said KyoAni had "developed a reputation for being a unique workplace" by employing writers on a salaried basis and "offering the money and security that allowed them to create works of high quality."

The studio also operated a school for animators.

Napier said the destruction was "a significant loss, both in terms of the terrific tragedy of human life and the lost creative work that may have been stored in the studio over its almost 40-year existence."

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net