Japan Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 30
Rescue efforts continue in Kumamoto Prefecture after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed 30 people, including a Vietnamese trainee, with hundreds still missing beneath collapsed buildings like AEON Mall and an industrial factory.
Soldiers and rescue workers are searching for survivors beneath the rubble of AEON Mall, which exploded and collapsed in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Japan, following a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake on the afternoon of July 28. Prime Minister Sanae Takaiichi confirmed the death toll has risen to 30, including one foreign national, with 63 injured and five in critical condition. The first foreign death is a Vietnamese trainee student killed at a factory when a crane collapsed. The student arrived in Japan in January, while seven other Vietnamese trainees at the same facility evacuated safely. AEON chairman Akio Yoshida confirmed four deaths at AEON Mall with three still missing, while a collapsed chimney at Nippon Paper Industries' Yatsushiro factory has claimed eight lives with seven rescued and four more believed trapped inside. Local authorities in Kumamoto Prefecture report nearly 34,900 homes without electricity, about 15,000 without water supply, and approximately 8,800 people evacuated to over 400 emergency shelters.
