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Fire breaks out at US-Japanese base of Sagamihara Fire breaks out at US-Japanese base of Sagamihara
(about 9 hours later)
Firefighters in Japan are tackling a blaze triggered by an explosion at a US Army base in the city of Sagamihara, the Pentagon has said. Firefighters in Japan have put out a blaze triggered by an explosion at a US Army base in the city of Sagamihara.
A spokesman said that so far there are no reports of an injuries. There were no reports of injuries. The fire, which broke out after midnight, was extinguished several hours later.
The blast occurred just after midnight on Monday at the Sagami Depot, a US Army post in Sagamihara, which is 40km (25 miles) south-west of Tokyo. It took place at the Sagami Depot, a US Army post in Sagamihara, which is 40km (25 miles) south-west of Tokyo.
The military says that the priority is to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. The US Army said the warehouse stored compressed gases including nitrogen, oxygen and freon. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blast.
Local firefighters quoted by the Jiji Press news agency said that a warehouse was ablaze. It also quoted a resident in the area as saying that more than 10 explosions were heard. Gas cylinders were reported to have been stored in the warehouse. US officials have also said that the warehouse did not store ammunition or hazardous chemicals.
One resident told public broadcaster NHK that she heard continuous explosions for 10 to 15 minutes.
"Orange sparks were rising quite high. I couldn't see smoke but smelled something like gunpowder," she told NHK.