Mashiki (Japan): A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck southern Japan on Saturday, barely 24 hours after a smaller quake hit the same region and killed nine people.
Japanese broadcaster NHK said a number of calls were coming in from residents reporting people being trapped inside houses and buildings.
The quake shook the Kumamoto region at 1:25 am on Saturday, and several aftershocks soon followed.
Sirens of patrol vehicles were heard on the background as NHK reported from the hardest-hit town of Mashiki. (PTI)
