FLAMES ERUPT FROM QUAKE-DAMAGED CHIMNEY DURING DEMOLITION AT JAPAN PAPER MILL

JAPAN | YATSUSHIRO FACTORY FIRE Dramatic footage shows flames and thick black smoke erupting from a smokestack at the Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The fire broke out on September 3 as crews were carrying out demolition work on an earthquake-damaged chimney. Firefighters were called to the factory after an employee reported that the chimney being dismantled had caught fire. The site is still recovering from the powerful magnitude 7.1 Kumamoto earthquake that struck on July 28. An 80-metre chimney at the factory collapsed during the earthquake, killing nine employees. During the latest incident, workers were removing the damaged upper section of another chimney when the fire broke out. Ten workers at the site evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters deployed 14 fire engines to tackle the blaze, with large plumes of black smoke visible above the industrial site. Officials said the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. The incident has added to the shock surrounding the factory, which suffered heavy damage and loss of life in the earthquake just weeks earlier. VIDEO CREDIT: @in_oj5