Maldives foreign ministry has assured that all Maldivians living in the Osaka area were safe after a deadly earthquake struck Japan’s second city on Monday during the height of rush hour.
At least three people were killed while hundreds are reportedly injured by 6.1 magnitude quake which however, did not trigger a tsunami warning.
Maldives foreign ministry on Twitter assured the safety of Maldivians in the area and said its embassy in Tokyo was closely monitoring the situation.
Japan lies in a particularly earthquake-prone region and accounts for around 20 percent of quakes worldwide of magnitude 6.0 or more.
The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the tremor, which struck at 7.58am as people crowded into train stations for their daily commute, at 6.1. Scattered fires broke out in buildings in the heavily urbanised area, and while authorities reported no damage to railways or major roads, parts of the network had been closed as a precaution.
A nine-year old girl killed by a falling wall at her school was one of three confirmed fatalities.
An elderly man was also killed by a collapsing wall while another was trapped below a bookcase at home, national broadcaster NHK reported.
