Japan quake death toll rises to 13 after newly reopened Aeon Mall collapses in Kumamoto

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said 13 people have been found dead after a powerful quake shook part of southwestern Japan and rescue work was continuing Wednesday morning for the missing.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu late on Tuesday afternoon.

“There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time,” Takaichi said. “We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can.”

Takaichi offered her condolences to the victims and sympathy to their relatives, while urging those affected by the quake to take care of themselves under the hot weather.

Japan’s Self Defence Forces joined rescuers in the search and rescue operations at a badly damaged shopping centre and helped deliver water and transfer the patients. The government was also preparing to deliver food and other necessities to the hard-hit areas, she said.Emergency workers inspect the damaged Aeon Mall on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

The quake collapsed the second floor of the Aeon Mall in Kashima Town, trapping people, according to the fire department in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto. Prefectural officials said they were investigating an explosion reportedly from a gas leak.

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