Tokyo, June 27: A total of 10 people sustained minor injuries after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck the central Japanese prefecture of Yamanashi and nearby areas, local media reported on Saturday.

The temblor occurred at around 10:29 p.m. local time on Friday (local time) at a depth of about 20 km. It measured lower 6, the third-highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale of 7, in Fujikawaguchiko Town and Upper 5 in Otsuki City, both in Yamanashi Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The prefecture is known for Mt. Fuji.

An intensity of lower 6 means it is difficult to remain standing, and unsecured objects like furniture may topple over, and windows may be damaged, reports Kyodo News, quoting the agency.

Such a level of shaking was last recorded in Yamanashi in 1924, prompting some to worry about possible volcanic activity of Mt. Fuji. But the JMA said after the quake that no abnormalities had been detected in the mountain’s volcanic activity, reports Xinhua news agency.

Experts said it is unlikely to cause Mt. Fuji to erupt, considering the mechanism of the quake that occurred near the boundary between tectonic plates.

The earthquake also affected Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures, as well as Tokyo, where shaking was clearly felt. No tsunami warning was issued.

Earlier on Friday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo.

The quake’s epicentre was located at a latitude of 35.7 degrees north and a longitude of 140.6 degrees east.

The quake was the second to strike near Tokyo in less than an hour. At 11:49 a.m., a 4.1-magnitude earthquake hit southern Ibaraki Prefecture, with tremors also clearly felt in the capital.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, at least four people were injured after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan.

The temblor, revised up from a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, occurred at around 7:30 a.m. local time off the eastern coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of about 40 km. It measured upper 6, the second-highest level on Japan’s seismic scale of 7, in Hashikami Town and lower 6 in Hachinohe City, both in Aomori Prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Caracas, June 27: Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said that La Guaira state, which was hard hit by Wednesday’s twin earthquakes, had been placed under military control to facilitate rescue efforts and ensure security.

“We want to tell everyone that La Guaira state is now fully militarised and fully under the control of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces,” Rodriguez said during a televised briefing on Friday (local time).

Rodriguez said acting president Delcy Rodriguez had ordered the measure to ensure public safety, maintain internal order and facilitate rescue operations by Venezuelan emergency responders and international rescue teams.

He said the majority of rescue personnel were operating in Caraballeda, Macuto, Los Corales and Catia La Mar — areas that had been severely affected by the earthquakes, reports Xinhua news agency.

Rodriguez called on the public not to travel to La Guaira to avoid congesting evacuation routes and routes used for transporting rescue teams and equipment.

He also called on Venezuelans to donate supplies, including water, food, mattresses, clothing, blankets, light and heavy equipment, including earthmoving machinery, through collection centres set up in Caracas.

He thanked thousands of volunteers, officials and rescue organisations for their tireless efforts to save lives and assist those affected.

Technical and humanitarian assistance from more than a dozen countries has begun arriving in Venezuela to help victims and support early recovery efforts after Wednesday’s devastating earthquakes.

Rescue teams and specialised equipment have arrived in Venezuela since Thursday from countries including India, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Qatar, as well as from the UN system.

Wednesday’s earthquakes killed at least 920 people and injured more than 3,360, according to the latest official report, severely damaging infrastructure along the country’s central coast.

Kolkata, June 27: The death toll in the collapse of an under-construction warehouse at Taratala on the southern outskirts of Kolkata has risen to 16, the Kolkata Police confirmed on Saturday, even as rescue operations entered the third day.

Till Friday night the death count following the mishap was 15 and the figure increased to 16 as one more person, who was under treatment, succumbed to his injuries.

Right now, 14 other people are still under treatment at the state-run S.S.K.M Medical College & Hospital in South Kolkata and the condition of a couple of them is still critical.

Three days have passed since the mishap took place and the rescue operations, though at the terminal stage, were continuing on Saturday morning.

The Railways have joined hands with the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in the rescue operation.

State-of-the-art plasma-cutting and oxy-cutting machines are being brought in to cut iron beams. At the same time sniffer dogs have been deployed to search for survivors and infrared victim locator cameras have also been brought in

Meanwhile, a police complaint has been filed at Taratala Police Station against former Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the ex-municipal affairs & urban development minister, Firhad Hakim and two Trinamool Congress Councillors namely Anwar Khan, and Shams Iqbal in the Taratala disaster case by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mazdoor Cell.

A preliminary probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kolkata Police in the case related to the under-construction warehouse roof collapse at Taratala on Wednesday, has revealed that a combination of two factors — the use of poor-quality construction material and adopting a flawed casting pattern — led to the mishap, which has claimed 16 lives till now.

At the same time, the Kolkata Police said they were unable to ascertain the exact number of workers present at the under-construction warehouse site in Taratala at the time of the collapse, as no attendance record had been maintained by the managers.

According to the police, there was no workers’ register at the warehouse and, therefore, there is no accurate count of how many people might still be trapped under the rubble.