The death toll from a powerful earthquake in south-west Japan has risen to 13, as rescue workers race to find more survivors from underneath the rubble according to BBC.
The magnitude 6.8 quake struck Kumamoto prefecture late on Tuesday, damaging roads and buildings, shutting rail networks, and forcing thousands to evacuate to shelters.
Three of the fatalities are from the Aeon Mall in Kashima, where a portion of the second floor collapsed, the fire department said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave her condolences to those who had died and thanked emergency services for their continued efforts.
“It’s a race against time,” Takaichi said in an update on Wednesday morning.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) measured the earthquake magnitude at 7.1 and the US Geological Survey later placed it at 6.8. Quake magnitude figures are often updated as seismologists obtain and analyse new data.
The quake’s shallow epicentre – with a depth of 10 km (six miles) – was about 20km south of Kumamoto city.
In nearby Kashima, the fire department said the Aeon shopping mall’s “second floor collapsed”.
Footage of the shopping centre shows white smoke rising from the building, as people run into the carpark. Large parts of the mall’s exterior have been blown off, exposing the steel beams underneath.
Eight people have been rescued from the mall, AFP news agency reported.
It is unclear how many more are trapped, but local broadcaster NHK reported that the number is “lower” than initial reports of 20 to 30.
Aeon Mall is a popular nationwide chain that operates about 160 centres across Japan. It holds department stores, boutiques, pharmacies and food courts.
Elsewhere, footage aired by NHK showed cracked roads and bridges and several buildings on fire. Train services were suspended and electricity cut off for thousands of homes.
Felix Umland, a German photography student, was on the 13th floor of a hotel in Kagoshima, about 175km (109 miles) from the quake’s epicentre.
“I just heard glasses flying in the kitchen and everything in the kitchen started breaking. There’s not much you can do, it’s a pretty hopeless situation. You’re looking around waiting for it to stop,” he told BBC’s Newshour programme.
“In Japan the buildings are built to move with the earth but it feels like the building beneath you turns into liquid. It’s a very surreal feeling. The solid ground just suddenly turned into a mass that was moving,” Umland said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency posted to X that the earthquake “caused no damage or safety issues at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant, located around 100km (62 miles) from the epicentre, and that it remains in operation”.
“The IAEA will continue to monitor the situation,” it said.
First responders have been deployed, including Japan’s self-defence force, fire services and coast guard, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.
“We urge residents in areas where the shaking was particularly severe to pay close attention to evacuation information issued by local authorities via radio, television and the internet, and to act calmly,” he said.
Takaichi said 3,600 soldiers would be deployed to help with disaster recovery as tremors continued. Japan’s Meteorological Agency has reported more than 60 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 1 to 4.
Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, experiencing about 1,500 quakes a year.
In 2016, 278 people were killed in a series of powerful earthquakes in Kumamoto, NHK reported at the time.