▲ A collapsed building following a strong earthquake in Kumamoto, Japan
Casualties continue to rise as two people were found dead at a large shopping mall in Kumamoto Prefecture, western Kyushu, where an explosion and collapse accident, presumed to be caused by a magnitude 7.1 strong earthquake, occurred.
At around 5:00 a.m. today (July 29), local media including NHK reported that eight people were rescued from the AEON Mall located in Mashiki-machi, Kumamoto Prefecture. Among them, two women in their 20s were found dead, and one person was transported to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest.
The remaining five injured are reportedly not in life-threatening condition.
At the shopping mall, an explosion sound was heard at around 6:00 p.m. yesterday, causing parts of the building's roof and walls to collapse. Because of concerns over large-scale casualties, overnight rescue operations were carried out.
However, active rescue efforts reportedly faced limitations due to darkness and the possibility of additional collapses.
Local media reported that the explosion occurred after some 200 visitors evacuated the shopping mall following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake (announced by the Japan Meteorological Agency) that struck near Uki City, Kumamoto Prefecture, at 4:27 p.m. the previous day.
However, local media also reported that many employees may have returned inside the store after guiding customers to evacuate.
A senior Japanese government official told the Yomiuri Shimbun that an explosion caused by a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) leak is a possibility.
At a Nippon Paper Industries plant in Yatsushiro City, part of a chimney collapsed, leading to the rescue of two people in cardiac arrest, while nine employees remain out of contact.
Kumamoto Prefectural Police stated that 12 cases of collapsed houses occurred within the jurisdiction, and four reports were received of people unable to get out of their homes due to damaged exits.
Additionally, following the strong earthquake, blackouts occurred in approximately 48,000 households in Kumamoto Prefecture, and about 140,000 households experienced water outages.
Some hospitals are reportedly struggling to treat the injured due to the impact of the power outages.
Emergency safety assurance requests were issued for 46,610 households involving 92,743 residents in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Jiji Press reported that 466 evacuation centers were opened across 36 local governments, where 4,744 people have taken shelter.
On July 29, heatwaves are forecasted across Kumamoto Prefecture, including a high of 33°C (91°F) in Yatsushiro City, raising concerns that rescue and recovery operations may face difficulties.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that no Korean casualties have been reported so far from the Kumamoto earthquake, and that it is closely monitoring the local situation while continuing to check for any harm to its citizens.
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.