Japan Earthquake: Death Toll Rises to 30, Search for Trapped Individuals Continues

Tokyo, July 30: The death toll from the powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu has risen to 30. According to local authorities, over 60 people have been injured, and many are still feared trapped under the rubble.

As reported by broadcaster NHK, the provincial government indicated that the number of injured is continuously increasing, suggesting that the death toll may rise further.

Approximately 5,000 members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are engaged in rescue and relief operations. However, the efforts have become more challenging due to temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius on Thursday and a 5.8 magnitude aftershock that occurred overnight.

In the Aeon shopping mall in Kashima town, around 170 rescue workers are searching for those trapped. Thousands were present in the mall at the time of the earthquake.

According to Aeon, nearly 3,000 customers were evacuated to a safe parking area after the quake. Subsequently, a gas explosion occurred in another section of the mall. So far, eight individuals have been rescued from the debris, three of whom have died.

The company reported that all those affected by the explosion were store employees who returned to the building after the evacuation. The president of Aeon publicly apologized during a press conference on Wednesday, acknowledging that the company failed to anticipate the risk of a gas explosion. An investigation into the cause of the explosion is ongoing.

Images released by Japanese media show a section of the mall’s roof collapsed, while rescue workers wearing helmets and masks are seen conducting search operations among metal debris and rubble.

Meanwhile, police and SDF personnel are still searching for four missing employees after a chimney collapsed at the Nippon Paper Mill in Yatsushiro. A total of seven employees were trapped in this incident, with five confirmed dead and two seriously injured.

Additionally, the first confirmed death of a foreign national has been reported. According to the Vietnamese government, a Vietnamese technical trainee died when a crane fell on him at his workplace during the earthquake.