"Grab the Money": Employee Killed in Explosion After Returning to Building Following Evacuation

It has been revealed that a female employee in her 20s died in an explosion at the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto—which was struck by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake on June 28—after she evacuated outside but was ordered by her company to re-enter the building.

According to Japanese media outlets including the Mainichi Shimbun and TBS, Habita, the operator of a lifestyle goods store located inside the Aeon Mall, held a press conference and stated, "Two of our employees died in the explosion accident."

The company admitted that the two deceased employees had evacuated after the earthquake occurred, but a company executive instructed them to "put the cash register sales into the safe." Following this instruction, 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 successfully evacuated to a safe parking lot immediately after the earthquake.

However, on her way back into the store following the company's instruction, 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 in," and headed toward the store.

About five minutes after Otake re-entered the store, the explosion took place.

Habita executives visited Otake's wake yesterday to formally apologize to the bereaved family and delivered a document outlining the details of the accident.

Otake's mother reportedly shed tears, saying, "My daughter is not coming back now."

Habita's sales manager stated, "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
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.