More than 40 people have been injured in an explosion at a restaurant in the Japanese city of Sapporo.
Police said one person was in a critical condition following the blast in Hokkaido, the most northern of Japan’s main islands. Forty other people suffered minor injuries.
The cause of the explosion, which triggered the collapse of the building, is not yet known.
Footage posted on social media showed fire crews battling intense flames in a street strewn with debris.
The blast happened in Sapporo’s Toyohira district at about 8.30pm local time (11.30am GMT) on Sunday.
“I heard a ‘bang,’ which sounded like thunder, and my condo was shaken,” a man who lives nearby told the Japan Times.
Firefighters cordoned off the area amid fears of further explosions.
According to NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, the explosion took place at a two-storey Izakaya restaurant – a type of informal Japanese pub.
