Magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Osaka, Japan, kills three and injures 200

A 9-year-old girl and two men in their eighties were killed

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More than 200 people in Japan have been injured, and three killed, by an earthquake in Osaka, western Japan, this morning.

Disaster authorities say the magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck at 7.30am local time (2.30am UAE time).

A girl, 9, and a man in his eighties were killed by falling walls in Osaka, another man in his eighties was killed by a falling bookcase.

The Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported at least 234 people were injured, on Monday morning.

"We were sleeping and it woke us up abruptly," Kate Kilpatrick, 19, an American who was staying in a hotel in Osaka when the quake hit, told Reuters.

"It was so terrifying because this is my first earthquake. I thought it was a nightmare because I was so confused," she said. "The whole world was aggressively shaking."

The earthquake caused widespread damage and disruption, including building fires, toppling of concrete walls, cracked roads and pipes. Flights out of Osaka International Airport were grounded and train services suspended.

Osaka is Japan's second biggest city, and will host the G20 summit next year. The city is also home to Panasonic, a electronics company. The company said it was halting production at three of its plants.

Daihatsu Motor Company, a unit of Toyota Motor Corp, stopped production at their factories in the region and checked for damage.