Kumamoto - Two women believed to be in their 20s were confirmed dead and another woman remained in cardiopulmonary arrest on July 29 after an explosion and partial building collapse at Aeon Mall Kumamoto, where rescuers continued searching for several people whose safety had not been confirmed following a powerful earthquake.
Eight people had been recovered from the damaged shopping complex in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture. In addition to the two deaths and the woman found in cardiopulmonary arrest, five people were injured, although their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Several other people remained unaccounted for as emergency crews searched unstable sections of the building.
The explosion occurred after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture at around 4:27 p.m. on July 28, producing the maximum seismic intensity of 7 in parts of the prefecture.
Aeon said about 200 customers and employees were evacuated from the mall after the earthquake. However, several workers reportedly returned to the building, apparently to inspect damage or begin cleanup work, before an explosion occurred at around 5:45 p.m.
The blast caused extensive damage to the large shopping complex, including the collapse of part of the second floor. Exterior walls and sections of the ceiling were blown away, exposing the building's steel framework and interior.
The entrance to the mall collapsed almost completely, while another section facing the parking lot also fell. Large pieces of exterior wall and other debris were scattered across the grounds, striking several vehicles and reaching a major road about 30 meters from the building.
Emergency access was obstructed by wreckage, forcing fire engines, ambulances and police vehicles to stop some distance from heavily damaged areas. Rescuers also faced the danger of further collapse and continued seismic activity.
Images released from inside the mall showed ceilings that had fallen onto corridors, piles of debris blocking passageways and damaged fixtures scattered throughout the building. The conditions made it difficult for search teams and heavy machinery to move safely through the structure.
Large numbers of firefighters and rescue personnel worked through the night and into July 29. Heavy equipment was brought into the collapsed structure as crews attempted to reach people believed to have been trapped.
Initial reports suggested that 20 to 30 employees and others could not be contacted. That number was later revised as authorities confirmed the whereabouts of some people and recovered others from the building. Officials had not issued a final number of missing people by midday on July 29.
Authorities were investigating whether leaking gas caused the explosion. Government officials said they had received reports that a gas leak may have been involved, while a gas odor was detected during search operations inside the mall. However, the precise cause and point of ignition had not been formally established.
Police warned residents near the facility to evacuate because gas could still be leaking. Witnesses said they did not detect a strong odor themselves, but police announcements urged people to move away from the area as a precaution.
The most severely damaged area appeared to be around an equipment and delivery entrance, away from the main entrances used by shoppers. The blast destroyed walls and ceilings around that section and sent debris across the surrounding roads and parking areas.
A taxi driver who was waiting about 30 meters from the wall that was blown away described a sudden pressure wave at around 5:45 p.m. "There was suddenly a bang, as if the air expanded and burst," the driver said. "I thought the windshield was going to break. The car filled with dust and everything turned white."
The explosion was heard far beyond the mall grounds. A person at a pharmacy about 500 meters away said the blast sounded like a lightning strike, while an employee at Kashima town hall, approximately 1.5 kilometers away, also reported hearing a loud bang.
Video taken by nearby residents showed a section of the building reduced to its framework. What appeared to be a piece of the exterior wall was left hanging from overhead electrical wires.
Clouds of white smoke and dust spread across the area, sharply reducing visibility as customers and employees fled. Witnesses could be heard warning one another to move away from the building.
A woman who had been on the mall grounds said the explosion produced a sensation unlike the earthquake that had struck earlier.
"It was different from the sound and movement of the earthquake," she said. "It felt as though something was pushing upward, and then a huge amount of white smoke rose."
She said people initially did not understand that an explosion had taken place, but those nearby began shouting that it was dangerous and telling everyone to move farther away.
"If I had made a slightly different choice, I could have been somewhere I could not get out of," she said. "I really did not feel alive."
Another witness described the scene as looking like "the end of the world," saying it was difficult to comprehend that such destruction had occurred at the mall.
A store employee said some staff members had gone back into the building after helping customers evacuate following the earthquake, raising concerns that employees conducting inspections or cleanup work were among those caught in the explosion.
Aeon said the exact time of the explosion was initially unclear. The company had not released a detailed account of which part of the building was affected, how many employees remained inside or whether the gas system had been damaged by the earthquake.
Aeon Mall Kumamoto opened on October 10, 2005, in Kashima, which borders Kumamoto City. The complex occupies a site of about 207,000 square meters, with approximately 120,000 square meters of total floor space and 84,000 square meters of leasable retail space, making it one of the region's largest commercial facilities.
The mall contains stores, restaurants, entertainment facilities and a cinema, and serves as a major shopping destination for communities across the Kumamoto metropolitan area.
The facility has previously undergone earthquake recovery work. Aeon Mall Kumamoto was damaged during the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence, when two earthquakes registering seismic intensity 7 struck the region on April 14 and April 16.
The latest explosion came as emergency authorities were responding to widespread earthquake damage across Kumamoto Prefecture, including collapsed buildings, fires, disrupted roads, power and water outages and other incidents involving people trapped at industrial and residential sites.
The government said deaths and injuries were being reported across the wider disaster area, although figures from other locations were being compiled separately from the casualties at Aeon Mall Kumamoto.
At the mall, rescuers continued to prioritize areas where people might remain trapped, while police and fire officials investigated the gas supply, the pattern of structural damage and the sequence of events between the earthquake, evacuation and explosion.
Authorities had not determined whether the blast was caused directly by earthquake damage to gas pipes or equipment, whether gas accumulated after the evacuation, or what ignited it.
The mall remained closed, roads around the facility were restricted and nearby residents were being asked to follow police and emergency instructions while the search and investigation continued.
Updated: Three Dead, Four Missing After Explosion Devastates Aeon Mall Kumamoto
Source: FNN
