Tokyo : A nine-year-old girl was killed and two other feared dead after a strong quake rocked Japan's second city of Osaka during today's morning rush hour. There were no immediate reports of major damage and no tsunami warning was issued after the powerful quake, which stranded commuters and left tens of thousands without power. Local police said a girl, aged nine, had died in the city of Takatsuki, north of Osaka city. Media reported she had been trapped when a wall collapsed on her at school following the 5.3-magnitude quake.
Public broadcaster NHK said an 80-year-old man had been killed, also by a collapsing wall. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the government was "working united, with its first priority on saving people's lives." Abe said he had instructed his staff to "swiftly collect information on damage, make utmost efforts in rescuing and saving lives... (and) provide timely and appropriate information to the public." - Local officials said they had not received reports of major damage in the highly-urbanised area, where roads and train tracks criss-cross around densely-packed apartment buildings.
NHK showed footage of firefighters tackling a blaze that ripped through a home north of Osaka city after the quake, and several broadcasters showed images of water gushing into the street from underground pipes. Pictures circulating on social media showed electronic train announcement boards that had collapsed onto the platform at one local station, and broken glass at a ticket counter. The quake struck at 8:00 am, as platforms would have been heaving with passengers waiting to board their commuter trains to work. A number of train services were suspended, including the "shinkansen" bullet train. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it had detected no problems at any of the region's atomic power plants.
