Rescuers were racing against time on Wednesday to find people trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed shopping centre in southern Japan, as the death toll from a powerful earthquake rose to at least 13.
Emergency crews were searching through the wreckage of the Aeon shopping centre near Kumamoto, where an apparent explosion tore apart part of the building about an hour after Tuesday’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
Eight people have been pulled from the rubble, including two women in their 20s who were found dead. As many as 20 to 30 shopping centre workers were unaccounted for on Tuesday, public broadcaster NHK reported.
“Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo. “We will marshal all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible.”
Fire and rescue teams, police and around 170 army personnel were concentrating on parts of the building where calls for help had been received. More than 4,500 soldiers have been deployed across the earthquake zone to support rescue and recovery operations.
Authorities are investigating whether a gas explosion caused the damage to the shopping centre. Rescuers reported smelling gas inside the building, although the cause remained unclear, Japan’s top government spokesman, Minoru Kihara, said.
The search was being carried out against a backdrop of widespread disruption across the region. Seven people were missing after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries plant, while four others were seriously injured, a local government official said.
Hospitals were treating dozens of injured people, with some struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
One hospital in Uki, near the earthquake’s epicentre, said a power cut had left it unable to operate normally.
“It’s become like a field hospital,” the head of its administrative department told NHK.
Another hospital in the city suspended admissions after treating 86 people injured in the earthquake, including three with serious injuries.
The disaster also forced the evacuation of around 260,000 people across the prefecture. Police received 386 emergency calls following the quake, including reports of collapsed buildings and people needing rescue.
The earthquake struck about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Kumamoto City, the largest city in central Kyushu, with a population of around 700,000.
Authorities warned residents to remain alert for further strong earthquakes for about a week, as well as possible landslides.
The immediate rescue operation was also complicated by extreme heat. More than 36,000 homes remained without electricity on Wednesday, with temperatures expected to reach around 34°C (93°F), prompting warnings over heatstroke.
The collapse of the Aeon shopping centre became the most visible symbol of the destruction. The building, which houses around 200 shops, suffered extensive damage, with one side torn away, exposing steel beams and scattering debris across a car park.
Aeon, the mall operator, said customers and employees had been evacuated immediately after the initial earthquake. The company said the precise cause of the subsequent explosion was still unclear.
The quake also disrupted transport and industry. Several passengers on high-speed trains were injured, while operators suspended services immediately after the tremor.
Major companies including Sony, Tokyo Electron and Honda said they would suspend operations at plants in the affected area through Wednesday. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, evacuated workers from its local facility as a precaution before beginning to resume operations late on Tuesday.
Roads were badly damaged, with large cracks cutting across major highways and causing severe traffic disruption.
The disaster has brought painful memories of the devastating earthquake that struck Kumamoto a decade ago. That quake killed 275 people and injured 2,739, while thousands of buildings were damaged.
Historic landmarks were again affected by Tuesday’s tremors, including parts of Kumamoto Castle, shrines with heavy tiled roofs and a 17th-century tea house.
Japan lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences a significant share of the world’s strongest earthquakes. Authorities are now focused on the immediate task of finding survivors before the window for rescue begins to close.