A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Kumamoto prefecture on Japan's Kyushu island, triggering an explosion at an Aeon shopping mall that caused part of the building to collapse. The blast happened after staff and customers had already evacuated, though search teams are continuing to look for survivors amid concerns that people may still be trapped in the partially collapsed structure.

The quake hit at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT) on Tuesday. A witness described seeing an explosion and smoke coming from the mall, adding that the second floor of the building had collapsed. The mall's operator confirmed to AFP that the explosion occurred following the evacuation.