Japan quake toll rises to 13 as rescuers haul people from collapsed mall

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 alive 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, killing two women in their 20s.



Around 20 to 30 mall workers were unaccounted for on Tuesday, public broadcaster NHK said.



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.