3 dead, over 200 injured as earthquake hits Japan's Osaka

Tokyo, June 18: Three people died, including a nine-year-old girl, and over 200 people injured after a strong quake shook the city of Osaka in western Japan, local media reported on Monday.

The earthquake struck before 8 AM in northern Osaka and measured 6.1 in magnitude. On Japan's seismic intensity scale of zero to seven, it's categorized as a six-minus.

Public broadcaster NHK and private station TV Asahi both reported "several" deaths, with the Kyodo news agency saying a nine-year-old girl had been trapped by a damaged wall in a swimming facility north of Osaka city.

Local police said they could not confirm the reports.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the government was "working united, with its first priority on saving people's lives".

#UPDATE A nine-year-old girl is killed and one other person feared dead after a strong quake rocks Japan's second city of Osaka during morning rush hour https://t.co/vFEpW61cWl pic.twitter.com/uCraai3msC

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 18, 2018