Two workers told to re-enter quake-hit Japan mall before fatal blast
The two women's employer has apologised for sending them back to Aeon Mall to secure cash.
Two employees of a general goods store, Habita, were killed in an explosion at the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto, Japan, after being instructed by their employer to re-enter the earthquake-damaged building to secure cash. The blast occurred following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on July 28, which claimed 38 lives in Kumamoto prefecture, including seven at the Aeon Mall.
Habita has issued an apology for the "loss of two precious lives." Goji Yuse, Habita's sales director, acknowledged the inappropriateness of the instructions given, stating, "The instructions given at the time were inappropriate, and I truly regret them," as reported by NHK.
One of the deceased workers has been identified as 22-year-old Kurumi Otake. The identity of the second employee has not been released. Otake's family informed local media that she encountered a relative outside the Aeon Mall after the earthquake and explained she had to re-enter to move money from the cash register to a safe, as requested by her company. This account was corroborated by two company representatives who attended Otake's wake on Sunday and offered their apologies to her family.
Yuse told reporters at the wake, as reported by Kyodo, "Looking back now, it was not worth a life." He also mentioned that the company is deliberating on how to proceed with the matter, according to NHK.
Otake's relative described her as having a "strong sense of justice" and noted that she had supported her mother since her father's death three years prior, as reported by Asahi Shimbun. The relative lamented, "If she hadn't gone back inside the store at that time, Kurumi would still be with her family today."
While most individuals had evacuated the Aeon Mall shortly after the earthquake, some employees remained in the building approximately an hour later when the explosion occurred. Otake's mother was quoted by local media saying, "My daughter is not coming back."
Habita, established in 1976, operates over ten stores across multiple prefectures.