TOKYO, July 29 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday that the number of Self-Defense Forces personnel in the earthquake-affected Kumamoto prefecture had been increased to 4,600 as efforts continue to rescue people trapped under the debris.

We have increased the Self-Defense Forces presence compared with yesterday up to 4,600 people. There are 2,000 policemen, Takaichi said at a meeting of the emergency response headquarters.

She added that more than 1,000 firefighters were working at the scene. Firefighters are also responsible for rescue and ambulance services in Japan.

Many people are believed to be trapped under the rubble at a shopping mall in the town of Kashima and a paper mill in Yatsushiro, Takaichi said.

Three people died at the AEON shopping mall, and many people are still inside the building. At the Nippon Paper Industries plant in Yatsushiro, where a chimney collapsed, many people are missing. Extensive search and rescue efforts are underway. More than 20 hours have passed since the earthquake, and many people remain awaiting rescue. It is a race against time, she said.

At least 13 people died after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Kumamoto Prefecture area on the island of Kyushu in southwestern Japan on Tuesday afternoon at a shallow depth of 16 kilometers. Thousands have been evacuated from their homes.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar