A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern Japan, triggering a massive explosion at the Aeon mall in Kumamoto. The blast exposed steel beams and hurled debris across the parking lot, as thousands of shoppers and employees watched in horror after being evacuated.

Witnesses described being thrown to the ground and engulfed in dust. Takateru Sonoda, 41, who runs a nearby salon, told Jiji Press: 'I thought a bomb had gone off.' First responders rescued eight people from the rubble early Wednesday, three of whom were dead.

Aeon confirmed that three employees remain unaccounted for and is investigating a possible gas leak. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called it a 'race against time,' deploying 170 soldiers for rescue operations. All 25 cats from a cat cafe left behind during evacuation were saved.

The mall had just reopened last month after renovations following a deadly 2016 quake, with seismically reinforced ceilings. Aeon President Akio Yoshida admitted the company had not anticipated such an explosion, stating, 'We have never had an accident like this.'

Source: www.aljazeera.com