Overview

• At about 2:40 p.m. local time, a handbag caught fire on a southbound Midosuji Line train near Shinsaibashi after a station employee called 119.
• Authorities believe a mobile battery inside the passenger’s bag ignited, though the precise cause remains under investigation by police and fire officials.
• Two passengers—the bag’s owner in her 20s and a woman in her 60s seated nearby—sustained minor burns and were taken to hospital.
• The Osaka City Fire Department dispatched 11 engines and confirmed the fire was out by around 3:20 p.m.
• Osaka Metro suspended service across the line for inspections for roughly 50 minutes and resumed operations around 3:30 p.m., after evacuations created a brief scene of confusion.