It has been revealed that a 20-something female employee, who had successfully evacuated outside following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Japan on July 28, lost her life after re-entering the building inside the Kumamoto AEON Mall where an explosion later occurred, following instructions from her company.
According to Japanese media outlets including the Mainichi Shimbun and TBS, Habita, the operator of a general merchandise store located inside the AEON Mall, held a press conference and stated, "Two of our employees were killed in the explosion accident."
The company admitted that the two deceased employees had initially evacuated after the earthquake occurred, but a company executive instructed them to "put the cash register sales into the safe." Consequently, they went back inside the store together and were killed when the explosion occurred.
One of the deceased employees was identified as 22-year-old Kurumi Otake, a resident of Kumamoto City.
According to the bereaved family, Otake had evacuated to a safe parking lot once right after the earthquake struck.
However, on her way back into the store following the company's instructions, she happened to run into her aunt and cousin, who had come to the AEON Mall to shop. She told them, "The company told me to put the cash register sales in the safe, so I'm going back inside," before heading toward the store.
The explosion occurred about five minutes after Otake re-entered the store.
Habita executives visited Otake's wake yesterday, offered a formal apology to the bereaved family, and delivered a document outlining the details of the accident.
Otake's mother reportedly shed tears, saying, "My daughter is never coming back."
Habita's sales manager said, "Looking back now, sales revenue is something that cannot be exchanged for a human life."
The president of Habita, who visited the wake, apologized, saying, "It is deeply regrettable, and I am truly sorry to the bereaved family."
Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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