THIS is the horrifying moment surgeons cling onto a patient on the operating table after a destructive earthquake hits Japan.
Shocking CCTV footage shows Kumamoto hospital and its operating theatre swaying from the sheer force of the 7.1-magnitude quake that hit the country on July 28.
Hospital staff clung onto the patient as earthquake threw equipment around the operating theatre Credit: JCHO Kumamoto General Hospital via m3.com
Terrified surgeons shielding the patient on the operating table from danger Credit: JCHO Kumamoto General Hospital via m3.com
Two people can be seen pinning down the table and protecting the patient from danger as objects being flung across the room.
Other staff were tossed onto the floor while trying to hold down the hospital’s equipment.
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The room almost descends into complete darkness as the lights flicker on and off.
Surgeons operating on a patient at Kumamoto hospital, Japan Credit: JCHO Kumamoto General Hospital via m3.com
The hospital power disrupted as lights almost plummet the operating theatre into darkness Credit: JCHO Kumamoto General Hospital via m3.com
The surgery resumed after the quake subsided, according to Japanese media.
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The hospital’s operations returned to normal on Aug 5.
The Japanese quake hit the southern region of the island of Kyushu at6 at 4:26pm local time (7:27 am GMT), and reeled off more than 100 aftershocks.
There are reports that the tremors could be felt as far away as South Korea.
Train powerlines and tracks damaged after the 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan Credit: Getty
A cyclist surveys the damaged buildings in Hikawa, southern Japan Credit: AP
It has been reported that 34 people have died, injuring at least 100 people.
Among those who died were two workers after their boss had ordered them back into an earthquake-stricken mall to retrieve cash.
The retail company Habita and their sales manager Goji Yuse had admitted instructing the two workers to rush back into the Aeon shopping mall and put sales proceeds into a safe.
Aeon Mall Kumamoto, where an explosion occurred, is seen from an Asahi Shimbun helicopter on August 3, 2026 in Kashima, Kumamoto, Japan Credit: Getty
Damaged houses in Kumamoto, Japan, with as many as 79,000 people without water in the 35 degree Celsius heat Credit: Getty
The store collapsed following an explosion due to a gas leak, according to the mall’s operator, taking the life of the two employees.
Kurumi Otake, 22, was named as one of the employees who lost his life.
Their bosses have apologised for the fatal instruction that led to their sacrifice.
They added: “Looking back now it was not worth a life.”
The quake crumbled buildings and power was cut for thousands of homes, with damaged railways leaving trains stranded and roads ruptured.
At least 79,000 people were without water in the punishing 35 degree Celsius heat for days, including no electricity for air conditioners for around 3,500.
The most severely damaged part of Kumamoto was the town of Hikawa.
Officials have said that more than 800 of the town’s 4,500 homes were left in ruins, forcing residents to sleep in their vehicles in their local car parks.
