Thousands of shoppers and employees narrowly escaped disaster after a powerful explosion tore through Kumamoto’s Aeon shopping mall following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck southern Japan on Tuesday.

The blast ripped through part of one of the region’s largest shopping centers shortly after staff had evacuated customers because of the earthquake, exposing steel beams and sending debris flying across the parking lot.

Witnesses said the explosion triggered scenes of panic as people fled the area amid clouds of dust and the sound of emergency sirens.

“I thought a bomb had gone off,” Takateru Sonoda, 41, who operates a hair salon and café near the mall, told Japan’s Jiji Press.

“There were people calling on others to evacuate, and sirens were ringing out. Nearby roads were gridlocked; it was a state of panic,” he said.

Workers and nearby residents described being knocked to the ground by the force of the blast after the earthquake had already shaken the city.

Emergency responders, initially cautious about entering the unstable structure because of fears of further collapse, launched rescue operations overnight.

By early Wednesday, rescue teams had pulled eight people from the partially collapsed building, authorities said. Three of those rescued were pronounced dead.

Aeon said the whereabouts of three store employees remain unknown as search efforts continue.

The company added that investigators are examining whether a gas leak triggered by the earthquake may have caused the explosion.

Emergency crews continue to search the damaged structure while engineers assess its stability amid ongoing concerns about aftershocks.

The earthquake caused widespread damage across Kumamoto Prefecture, disrupting transportation, cutting power to thousands of homes and prompting emergency warnings for residents to remain alert for additional seismic activity.