Rescue operations are continuing in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture after a powerful earthquake that reached the maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, TBS television reported.

According to local authorities, 11 people were trapped at a factory owned by Japanese company Nippon Paper Industries in the city of Yatsushiro after the tremors. Two employees were pulled from the rubble, but both were in cardiopulmonary arrest. The fate of the remaining nine people is still unknown.

At the Aeon Mall Kumamoto shopping center in the town of Kashima, rescuers found five people. Three of them sustained moderate injuries, one suffered minor injuries, and the condition of another person is still being clarified. At the same time, the whereabouts of nine more people remain unknown.

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck southern Japan on July 28. It caused fires, damage to buildings, power outages, and transportation disruptions. Authorities warned residents of the region about the ongoing threat of further strong tremors and landslides.