Japan earthquake death toll rises to 34 as search continues at collapsed mall
The death toll from a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan climbed to 34 on Friday, July 31, as rescuers continued searching a collapsed shopping mall and other damaged sites, the Kumamoto prefectural government said.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan's southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday, July 28, triggering an explosion at a mall, toppling a factory chimney and flattening homes.
Officials said 34 deaths had been confirmed as related to the disaster, with one additional death still under investigation. More than 80 people had been injured, five of them seriously, authorities said Thursday, July 30.
More than 3,500 homes remained without electricity, and over 9,000 people were staying in shelters, where power sources were being added to run air conditioning amid growing concerns about heat-related illness in the days since the quake.
Search operations continued Friday, July 31, in the Kumamoto area, including at the site of the collapsed Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima, where some of the most serious damage was recorded. The mall was crowded with thousands of shoppers at the time of the quake.
According to the company, about 3,000 shoppers were evacuated to a parking lot before an explosion occurred in another part of the mall, where some staff remained. The mall's second floor collapsed, trapping people inside.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo on Friday, July 31, that seven people had been confirmed dead and 11 rescued at the mall site. Authorities did not specify how many people remained missing.
Separately, Kihara said a search operation had concluded at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in the Yatsushiro area, where a chimney collapsed during the quake. Eleven people were rescued at the site, while nine others were confirmed dead.
(Sourced through PTI
