Kumamoto - Authorities ended the five-day search and rescue operation at Aeon Mall Kumamoto on August 1 after confirming that all people reported missing had been accounted for, leaving seven dead and five others injured in an explosion that devastated the shopping complex shortly after the powerful Kumamoto earthquake.
The explosion struck the mall in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, at around 6 p.m. on July 28, more than an hour after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake registering the maximum seismic intensity of 7 shook the region at around 4:27 p.m.
The blast caused the mall's second floor to collapse, tore away exterior walls and ceilings, exposed parts of the steel structure and scattered debris across the building and surrounding parking area.
Rescue workers recovered 12 people from beneath the wreckage during the operation. Seven were confirmed dead, while the remaining five suffered minor injuries. With all missing people located, Kumamoto Prefecture announced the end of rescue activities at the mall on August 1.
Aeon said it had completed safety checks on approximately 2,700 mall employees. The three specialty-store employees whose whereabouts had remained unknown were among the seven people confirmed dead.
The company said it had received a report that shoppers had been fully evacuated before the explosion. Authorities nevertheless continued searching the entire building to ensure that no customers or other people remained trapped.
About 3,000 shoppers were guided outside within approximately 30 minutes of the earthquake. However, some employees either remained inside or returned to the building before the explosion, according to Aeon.
Three of those killed were employees of apparel group Onward Holdings, which operated the any SiS and WEGO stores at the mall.
Seven Onward group employees had been working at the facility when the earthquake struck. All initially evacuated outdoors and were contacted after the quake, but the company lost contact with three of them following the explosion.
The bodies of the three employees were found near a delivery entrance on the first floor.
Among the other victims was a 22-year-old woman who worked at a different store near the area believed to have been affected by the explosion.
Her mother said the woman had evacuated outside after the earthquake and happened to meet a relative. She reportedly told the relative that she had been instructed to return to the store and place money in a safe.
The relative attempted to stop her, but the woman went back into the building. The explosion occurred afterward.
Her mother said she believed her daughter and a colleague had returned under instructions from the store to secure sales proceeds.
"She went back to deposit the money, for the sake of the money," the mother said. "I want the company to clearly explain the truth."
The company operating the woman's store declined to respond to media questions.
The mother said she was cleaning up after the earthquake and did not initially know an explosion had occurred. When her younger daughter showed her footage of the blast, she first suspected that the video might have been false or generated using artificial intelligence.
She later saw television reports and immediately sent her daughter a message asking whether she was safe, but the message was never marked as read.
The mother said she continued hoping that her daughter had escaped and was sheltering elsewhere, possibly with injuries, until her death was confirmed.
Drone footage recorded on July 30 showed the scale of the destruction inside the mall. Debris covered the second-floor shopping area, sections of the roof had been blown away and sunlight entered through large openings above the stores.
Dust occasionally rose from the wreckage, while clothing remained on display inside shops where ceilings had collapsed.
Emergency crews initially faced difficulties entering parts of the building because of unstable structures, the possibility of further collapse and repeated aftershocks. Heavy machinery was later brought inside to remove rubble from entrances and other areas.
The precise cause of the explosion remains under investigation, but Aeon has said a gas leak is considered highly likely.
The mall used liquefied petroleum gas supplied from an outdoor storage tank rather than gas delivered through a municipal pipeline. The tank appeared to remain intact after the explosion, and the gas system had undergone a safety inspection in June.
Liquefied petroleum gas installations generally include meters designed to automatically stop the supply when they detect major shaking, leaks or unusual pressure changes. Investigators are expected to examine whether earthquake damage occurred in pipes or equipment inside the mall and whether the automatic shutoff system operated correctly.
Government officials said rescuers reported smelling gas at the site. Emergency vehicles repeatedly warned people to stay away from the building because of the possibility of a leak.
Aeon President Akio Yoshida said the company considered it highly likely that gas caused the explosion but that a detailed investigation was needed to determine what happened.
"We had not fully anticipated that an explosion of this kind could occur," Yoshida said.
The mall had only recently completed a major redevelopment following damage sustained during the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.
Aeon had emphasized measures including seismically reinforced ceilings and improvements intended to increase the building's safety and resilience. The center, one of the largest shopping complexes in Kumamoto Prefecture, contained more than 200 specialty stores.
Approximately 4,500 customers and employees were reportedly inside the mall when the July 28 earthquake struck. Customers were directed outdoors immediately, and most employees also evacuated before the explosion.
The disaster has raised questions about why workers remained inside or returned after the evacuation, whether stores instructed employees to secure cash or property, and whether procedures adequately protected workers from secondary dangers following the earthquake.
The end of the rescue operation shifts attention to the investigation into the gas system, the decisions made between the earthquake and the explosion, and responsibility for allowing or instructing employees to re-enter the damaged building.
The mall remains closed, and no timetable has been announced for reopening.
