Nearly 300 students and teachers evacuated after fire engulfs Tokyo elementary school

A fire erupted at an elementary school in central Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, prompting the swift evacuation of nearly 300 students and teachers.

At least 11 people were injured, some due to smoke inhalation, according to Japanese media reports. The injured were taken to a local hospital.

Among the injured were a teacher with a broken hip and two children with broken arms. Officials confirmed that all individuals were accounted for.

The Tokyo Fire Department said the blaze at Takinogawa No 3 Elementary School started at around 11am on Friday, originating near a music room on the top floor of the four-storey building.

It was extinguished in about three hours after damaging a part of the building.

Television footage captured thick black smoke billowing from fourth-floor windows as dozens of fire engines converged on the scene, with crews battling the flames.

Police said a class of fifth graders was being held in the music room where the fire began. Pupils reported a burning smell from a room used to store musical instruments, and a teacher saw smoke when he opened the door.

A fire alarm went off, but the sprinkler system did not work.

An 11-year-old boy told Kyodo News that he was in an English class when he heard people shouting “run!”

He said that, even though he was frightened, he repeated his teacher’s call for students to stay calm.

An employee of a company close to the school said he was “surprised by a fire alarm” and went outside to find many pupils in the schoolyard.

“Red flames were emerging from the school, and the sky became completely black due to the smoke,” they said.

Firefighters successfully rescued one teacher and several schoolchildren from the premises, all of whom sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

All other occupants of the building had independently evacuated to a nearby park, ensuring no one was left behind.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.