Children cower on a ledge while fleeing fire that engulfed their school

Teachers and pupils escaped through windows after a fire ripped through a school in Tokyo.

Video footage captured the moment children cowered on a ledge of the building while thick smoke billowed out of the building at around 11am on Friday.

There were around 300 students and staff in the Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School in the north of the city when fire broke out in the music room on the fourth floor.

Firefighters managed to rescue a teacher and schoolchildren, several of which are being treated for smoke inhalation.

Around 10 people were injured but none life-threatening.

The cause is currently under investigation.

It’s understood there was a class being held in the music room when the fire began.

A burning smell came from a room used to store musical instruments, according to The Japan Times.