Japan earthquake injures 50 and traps ‘many people’ inside shopping mall

Aerial footage shows collapsed buildings after 7.1 magnitude Japan earthquake – video Japan earthquake injures 50 and traps ‘many people’ inside shopping mall Deaths expected as Kumamoto shaken by 6.8-magnitude quake, knocking out power and damaging buildings A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken south Japan , leaving at least 50 people injured, with some trapped and presumed dead inside a partly collapsed shopping mall. The earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on the southern Kyushu island late on Tuesday afternoon, knocking out power to thousands of homes and damaging roads, bridges and buildings. Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage in the area, which was devastated by another deadly quake a decade ago. “We have already been informed that people have been injured. Power outages ⁠and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings,” Takaichi said. “I ask everyone to take action to protect themselves, including evacuating to a safe location.” About 300,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centres, ⁠the disaster management agency said. The areas with the biggest tremors will remain at risk of further strong quakes and landslides for about a week since the shallow earthquake is triggering active seismic activity in the area, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. So far there have been more than 60 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1 to 4, the agency said. A tsunami warning was issued immediately after the quake, ​but was lifted within two hours. One hospital reported ​more than 50 injuries, public broadcaster NHK said. Several people on a high-speed ‌train at the time of the quake were also ‌injured, according to local media reports. An explosion occurred in an Aeon shopping mall shortly after the earthquake, trapping “many people”, fire services said. Broadcaster TBS reported that police said “quite a few” were presumed dead in ‌the incident. An Aeon spokesperson said customers and employees were evacuated after the initial quake and the cause of the ensuing explosion remained unclear. Kazuya Tsurunaga told TBS he heard the explosion while cleaning up dishes broken by the earthquake inside a pub about 300 metres from the Aeon mall. View image in fullscreen A smokestack at Nippon Paper Industries’ Yatsushiro Mill collapsed in the 6.8m-magnitude earthquake. Photograph: Kyodo News/AP “It was a huge impact,” he said. “A large cloud of smoke billowed up, and because the wind happened to be blowing and the wind direction was towards the shop, the area around us was in a state like volcanic ash was falling.” Footage from NHK showed several other buildings on fire or partly collapsed, along with large fissures appearing on ‌major roads, including an elevated highway. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Sony and Fujifilm evacuated workers from their factories in the area. The