At least 13 dead in Japan earthquake

Rescuers were

frantically searching on Wednesday for survivors of a

7.1-magnitude earthquake that shook southern Japan, killing at

least 13 people, knocking out power to thousands of homes and

rupturing roads across the region.

Eight people were pulled from the rubble of a partially

collapsed shopping mall near the city of Kumamoto that was torn

apart by an apparent explosion about an hour after Tuesday's

earthquake. Of them, three have died.

Mall operator Aeon said four workers at the

Kumamoto shopping centre remained unaccounted for after checks

of the roughly 2,700 staff. Customers had been evacuated right

after the initial quake.

"Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this

is a race against time. We will marshal all available resources

on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible,"

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo.

Authorities are investigating a possible gas explosion at

the Aeon mall, media reported. Rescuers reported smelling gas

inside the building but the cause of the incident was still

under investigation, Japan's top government spokesperson Minoru

Kihara said.

Emergency fire rescue teams, police and around 170 army

personnel were focusing on areas of the building where calls for

help had been received. More than 4,500 soldiers have been

deployed to help with recovery efforts across the quake zone.

Seven people are also missing after a chimney collapsed at a

Nippon Paper Industries factory, while four others are

seriously injured, a local government official said. Hospitals

were reported to be treating dozens of patients.