Emergency crews worked through the night at a damaged shopping mall in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday. 

An explosion tore through part of AEON Mall Kumamoto following the quake. An investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion. 

Six people were rescued from the damaged building, while the bodies of two women in their 20s were also recovered. 

Around 20 to 30 mall employees were missing and feared trapped inside. At least 13 deaths have been reported across the affected region, while around 300,000 people were instructed to evacuate as aftershocks continued.