After the quake came the blast: Inside Japan's shopping mall disaster
A massive 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck a shopping mall in Kumamoto, Japan, followed by a secondary explosion that caused structural collapse. Rescue operations are currently underway to locate trapped individuals, with authorities investigating a potential gas leak as the cause of the blast.
Why it matters
The incident highlights ongoing concerns regarding infrastructure resilience in earthquake-prone regions, especially for facilities that have undergone recent seismic reinforcement.
KUMAMOTO, Japan, July 29 (Reuters) - Workers in a mall in southern Japan described being thrown to the floor or enveloped in a cloud of dust by a massive 7.1-magnitude quake that rattled the building on Tuesday. They were the lucky ones. An hour later, the real disaster struck.
Hundreds of shoppers and store employees, quickly ushered by staff to evacuate, watched on in horror as an explosion ripped through the building, exposing the structure's steel beams and catapulting debris across the parking lot.
First responders, initially fearful of entering the wreckage, hauled eight people from the partially collapsed site early on Wednesday, among them three dead. The status of four store workers remains unknown, mall operator Aeon said, adding that it was investigating a possible gas leak.
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