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KUMAMOTO: Rescuers battled through the tangled wreckage of a Japanese shopping mall on Wednesday searching for any trapped survivors after a big earthquake killed at least 13 people.
A massive explosion ripped through the mall around 50 minutes after the 7.1-magnitude tremor on Tuesday in the southwestern Kumamoto region, where in 2016 twin quakes killed nearly 300 people.
The tremor on the island of Kyushu caused widespread damage, flattening homes, triggering fires and leaving left tens of thousands of residents without power and water.
Akio Yoshida, the president of mall operator Aeon, said three people died at the facility in the town of Kashima, with one more fatality feared and three others missing.
