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Many people are feared trapped inside a shopping centre after a strong earthquake hit south-western Japan, officials say.
Media reports say 20 to 30 people are missing after a blast at the Aeon Mall in Kashima Town, Kumamoto prefecture, following the magnitude 7.1 tremor. The fire department said the centre’s “second floor collapsed”.
In Yatsushiro City, several people are unaccounted for after a chimney collapsed at a paper factory, police are quoted as saying by Japan’s NHK broadcaster.
The quake hit inland on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT) on Tuesday, with about 300,000 people being told to move to evacuation shelters. A tsunami warning was lifted within one hour.
The quake was strong enough to be felt in Japan’s overseas neighbour South Korea.
Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, experiencing about 1,500 quakes a year.
The country’s meteorological agency has warned of strong aftershocks given the shallow epicentre – 10km (six miles). Footage aired by NHK shows cracked roads and bridges and several buildings on fire.
The quake’s epicentre was about 20km (12 miles) south of Kumamoto, which is Kyushu island’s largest city with a population of about 700,000.
“We are still assessing the extent of injuries and property damage, but I have been informed that there have already been several injuries,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.
Footage of the shopping centre shows white smoke rising from the building, as people run into the carpark. Large parts of the mall’s exterior have been blown off, exposing the steel beams underneath.
Aeon Mall is a popular nationwide chain that operates about 160 centres across Japan. It holds department stores, boutiques, pharmacies and food courts.
Dozens of people were injured during the earthquake – about 10 were in an elderly care home and at least 50 people are being treated in hospital, NHK reported.
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