Forty-two people were injured when an explosion caused a fire at a commercial building in a northern Japanese city, NHK reported.
The explosion occurred at around 8:30 p.m. local time about 3 kilometers southeast of Sapporo City center, causing a fire that burned until it was extinguished at 2:10 a.m.
Police officers investigate at the site of a suspected gas explosion that occurred in a commercial district in Sapporo, the capital of the northernmost Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido, December 16, 2018. / VCG Photo
One of the injured was in a critical condition, police said.
Witnesses said that windows of restaurants near the site were shattered and wood debris was scattered dozens of meters by the explosion.
The cause remains unknown though police suspect a gas leak.