Two firefighters have died and four people have been taken to hospital following a fire that broke out in a building near Dotonbori, Osaka, on Monday morning.

The fire occurred in a building housing restaurants in one of the city’s busiest shopping areas and a popular tourist spot, local firefighters said.

An emergency call at around 9:50 a.m. reported the fire on the first floor of the building, according to the fire department which mobilized 51 fire trucks.

The fire was largely extinguished after about three hours. However, a total of 110 square meters was burned, covering the basement to third floors of the building where the fire started, and the fifth and sixth floors of an adjacent building.

The two firefighters who died, aged 22 and 55, were found on the sixth floor of the building. Three other firefighters (one in his 20s and two in their 30s) were taken to hospital. A woman in her 20s who was a customer at a restaurant in the adjacent building was also taken to hospital. All four are said to be in no danger.

Black smoke was seen spewing from the building, located close to the famous Glico neon billboard, with crowds of passersby and tourists stopping to watch firefighters’ attempts to extinguish the blaze.