Many trapped in shopping mall as earthquake rocks Japan

“Many people” were trapped inside a shopping mall damaged in a major earthquake Tuesday in southwestern Japan, emergency services said.

In “Kashima town, a shopping complex’s second floor collapsed, leaving many people trapped inside,” the fire department said in a statement.

Police said earlier they had received reports of what sounded like an explosion at the Aeon Mall outlet in the Kumamoto region, with no information on damage or any casualties.

AFP