A major fire swept through a residential area in the southern Japanese city of Oita, forcing the evacuation of 175 people, the local government said on Wednesday. One person remains missing.

Firefighters were still battling the blaze , which has reportedly spread to a nearby forested mountain, public broadcaster NHK reported, showing white smoke rising from the flames in the distance.

Eyewitness accounts highlighted the terrifying speed and intensity of the fire. “The flames rose high, turning the sky red. The wind was strong. I never thought it would spread so much,” one man in the city on the southern island of Kyushu told the broadcaster NHK .

“The mountain was burning, the one behind,” said another man. “I brought with me my driver's license and smartphone.”

When did the fire s

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