Two people were unresponsive, two others were seriously injured and seven remained missing at a Nippon Paper Industries Co. plant after a magnitude 7.1 quake rocked Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28.
The quake struck the company's Yatsushiro Mill in the Kumamoto Prefecture city of Yatsushiro. A total of 11 people had been trapped at the paper mill. Four of them had been rescued, but two were said to be in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest and two others were seriously injured. The other seven remained unaccounted for.
Separately, two people were confirmed dead and another person remained in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest after an explosion occurred at Aeon Mall Kumamoto in the prefectural town of Kashima, following the earthquake.
The three were among eight rescued from the shopping mall, according to the prefectural government. The remaining five reportedly sustained injuries. According to the local fire department, the two deceased are believed to be women in their 20s.
In the prefecture, a total of 466 evacuation centers had been set up across 36 municipalities as of 10 p.m. on July 28, with 4,744 people from 2,180 households taking shelter. As some shelters are experiencing power outages, authorities are considering broader evacuations in areas including the city of Uki.
According to the prefectural government, hospitals in Yatsushiro, Uki and elsewhere were hit by power and water outages, prompting quick transfers of inpatients at Kumamotominami Hospital in Uki and Kibohgaoka Hospital in the town of Mifune to other medical facilities. Authorities are also checking on damage to elderly care facilities.