Japan quake: Five-day mall rescue ends in Kumamoto as death toll reaches 34

Tokyo,UPDATED: Aug 1, 2026 18:48 IST

Authorities on Saturday ended a massive five-day search-and-rescue operation at a collapsed shopping mall in southwest Japan after a powerful earthquake earlier this week killed 34 people. The magnitude 7.1 quake struck Kumamoto prefecture on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday, leaving people dead, injured and displaced, while rescue work continued in other affected areas.

Officials said all those reported missing at the Aeon Mall had been accounted for, but the overall number of missing across the prefecture remained unknown. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged rescue teams not to leave anyone behind, as the region also struggled with water shortages, fuel shortages and extreme heat.

The Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima was among the worst-hit sites. An explosion after the quake caused walls and a floor to crumple. The company said the blast was believed to have been caused by a gas leak. It happened after about 3,000 shoppers had been evacuated to a parking area following the quake, though some employees remained inside. The mall's second floor collapsed.

Over the past five days, rescuers pulled five people alive from the debris at the mall and recovered the bodies of seven others. On Saturday, officials said all missing people at the site had been accounted for and called off the operation there.

Search efforts continued elsewhere in Kumamoto, with thousands of Self-Defense troops, police personnel, rescue workers and sniffer dogs deployed. At a government task force meeting on Saturday, Takaichi urged rescue personnel not to leave anyone behind.

At another badly hit location, a chimney collapsed during the quake at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro city, trapping 11 employees, officials said. Two were rescued and nine were confirmed dead.

Authorities said 103 people were injured in Kumamoto. Two of the reported deaths are still being examined to determine whether they were linked to the earthquake.

The prefecture's main challenge has been a shortage of fresh water affecting nearly 70,000 homes, along with fuel shortages during sweltering weather that raised fears of heat-related illness. The Japan Meteorological Agency said temperatures in Kumamoto city reached an 'extreme heat' level of 36.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

More than 9,000 people were still staying in crowded shelters, including converted community centres, school gyms and classrooms. Many others spent the night in cars parked near town halls and parks, or outside their homes, for privacy. Experts have long criticised Japan's crowded shelters and the lack of sanitation and privacy, saying these add stress and increase the risk of health problems for people hit by disasters.

Takaichi said water, food and other essential supplies, including portable toilets, as well as air conditioners and partitions, were being sent to improve conditions at the shelters. 'The government is determined to do everything we can,' she said.

The prefecture said it had received more than 1,500 reports of power loss as of Saturday, though the local power company serving Kyushu said it had no immediate reports of outages. Officials also said more than 180 homes were destroyed and nearly 3,500 buildings were damaged, nearly double the number reported on Friday, with 20 of them severely affected. As rescue operations continued across Kumamoto, the earthquake's toll remained severe, with deaths, injuries, damage and shortages affecting thousands of people.

With PTI Inputs

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