A 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, caused the second floor of Aeon Mall to collapse, trapping many people inside. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
In a statement, the local fire department said: "In Kashima town, a shopping complex's second floor collapsed, leaving many people trapped inside."
Earlier, police said they had received reports of what sounded like an explosion at the Aeon Mall outlet in the Kumamoto region, but were unable to supply additional information on damage or any casualties.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the earthquake had a depth of 10 km and hit the country's Kumamoto prefecture at 4:27 p.m. local time (8:27 a.m. BST).
The tremor measured at the highest possible level seven on Japan's Shindo scale of shaking, the agency said. While the agency initially issued a tsunami warning for a wave measuring one metre, it has since rescinded that.
In 2016, Kumamoto was hit by two devastating earthquakes – one of magnitude 6.5, followed by one of magnitude 7.3 two days later – which killed 273 people and injured over 2,800 others.