SRINAGAR: A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday, injuring at least 50 people, trapping several inside a partially collapsed shopping mall and causing widespread disruption across southern Japan, according to officials and media reports. Fire officials said several people were trapped inside an Aeon shopping mall following a reported explosion after the earthquake. Japanese broadcaster TBS reported that police feared “quite a few” people may have died, although authorities had not officially confirmed any fatalities. The National Center for Seismology (NCS) said the earthquake struck at 12:57:22 IST. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said authorities were continuing to assess the extent of the damage.