Shinkansen bullet trains remain halted after M7.1 quake hits Kumamoto

TOKYO , Jul 29 (KYODO/APP):Services on the Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train line remained halted Wednesday, its operator said, a day after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto.

Some tram services had restarted in the city of Kumamoto, according to the Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau, which warned of suspensions in the event of another strong earthquake.

Meanwhile, Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. canceled 11 and two flights, respectively, due to the earthquake.

JR Kumamoto Station was crowded with people in the morning. Riko Furuta, 23, stood in line at a taxi rank, heading home after spending the night at her office.

“I couldn’t sleep because the earthquakes continued throughout the night. It was more frightening than 10 years ago,” she said.

After Tuesday’s temblor, which registered a maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, an explosion rocked a shopping mall in Kashima in Kumamoto Prefecture operated by the Aeon group, with rescuers searching for the missing. Local authorities said Wednesday that two women were confirmed dead and a woman was found unresponsive.

Around 200 people had been evacuated before the collapse of the mall’s second floor.