31 oct
A fire has destroyed the main hall and other buildings at Shuri Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa.
The fire department in Naha City, the prefectural capital, received an emergency call about a fire shortly after 2:40 a.m. on Thursday.
Fire department officials say 30 fire engines are at the site extinguishing the blaze, but six buildings at the castle grounds have burned down, including the main hall and the north and south halls. They say 4,200 square meters of the site have been damaged.
They say the fire is abating more than seven hours after it started, but the Hoshin Gate is still burning.
Firefighters who rushed to the site reported flames rising from the main hall. The fire later spread to the north and south halls.
A festival featuring the culture of the Ryuku Kingdom was being held at the castle. Police say staff had been preparing one of the events until the early hours of Thursday.
Shuri Castle was originally built some 500 years ago. It was designated a national treasure in 1933, and was destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa during World War Two.
The main hall was restored in 1992, and other buildings at the castle were also reconstructed. In 2000, remnants of the original castle, together with ruins of other castles of the Ryukyu Kingdom, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
nhk
