Baby pulled from rubble after deadly Japan earthquake

This is the moment an eight-month-old baby was pulled alive and unharmed from a flattened house after a deadly earthquake in southern Japan.

The powerful 6.5-magnitude quake left nine people dead and nearly 1,000 injured after it struck at 9.30pm local time on Thursday.

Buildings were toppled and power supplies hit, with the worst damage seen in the town of Mashiki, near Kumamoto city on the island of Kyushu.

Some 1,600 soldiers have been sent to the scene to assist with the rescue operation, which has so far been hampered by the number of aftershocks.

People are still feared to be trapped under debris and collapsed buildings.

No tsunami warning was issued after the quake.

A road damaged by an earthquake is seen in Mashiki. Credit: Reuters

Japanese media showed residents, some of them wrapped in blankets, huddling in parking lots and other open space for fear of further building collapses.

One survivor told Japanese media: "There was a ka-boom and the whole house shook violently sideways."