TOKYO — Japanese authorities announced on Saturday, August 1, that rescue operations have ended at a shopping mall in Kumamoto devastated by an explosion following a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck on Tuesday.

According to the disaster management office of the Kumamoto region, a total of 12 people were pulled from the mall site, including seven confirmed dead. A spokesperson for Aeon, the mall's operator, told AFP that the seven fatalities were employees of tenant stores.

"We conducted a thorough search over the past two days in collaboration with the fire service, the Self-Defence Forces, and other regional police units," a police official said during a disaster management meeting, confirming that no one remained missing.

Rescue efforts were also recently concluded at a paper factory where a smokestack collapsed, resulting in nine bodies recovered and two survivors extracted.

The earthquake caused widespread damage across the sweltering southwestern region of Japan, flattening homes, damaging bridges, triggering fires, and leaving many residents without electricity and water. While power outages have mostly been resolved, approximately 59,000 households still lack water supply.

More than 9,000 people, many elderly, remain in shelters as of Saturday.

Kumamoto was previously struck by two devastating earthquakes in 2016, which killed 273 people and injured more than 2,800.

Sources