Ten people are dead and eight people are hurt after fire swept through a small orthopedic hospital in Fukuoka in western Japan.  The dead are believed to be eight patients and two staffers.

The smokey fire broke out early in the morning and took more than two hours to put out.  Neighborhood residents told reporters that most of the patients there were elderly.  Some were seen being rushed out of the hospital.

“The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage,” a police official said, adding that the victims have yet to be identified.

“Patients... were exposed to a lot of smoke because fire doors that would have stemmed the flow had been left open,” a local fire official alleged.