Rescue workers search intensively for more survivors
Following the severe earthquake in Japan, which claimed dozens of lives, rescue workers are searching intensively for more survivors. Japan's head of government, Fumio Kishida, spoke of "widespread destruction" on Tuesday. Now it is a "race against time" to search for possible survivors. According to a spokesman for the particularly hard-hit Ishikawa prefecture, the death toll has risen to at least 48.
The main Japanese island of Honshu was shaken by a severe 7.5-magnitude quake and dozens of aftershocks and hit by tsunami waves on New Year's Day. Countless houses on the Noto peninsula collapsed or were damaged, roads became impassable and a major fire destroyed a historic market district in the town of Wajima. There were also further aftershocks on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a tsunami warning was lifted.
Firefighters searched under a collapsed six-storey commercial building in Wajima for possible survivors. According to media reports, a major fire destroyed around 200 buildings in the city's historic market district. A spokesman said on Tuesday that the fire department was barely able to cope with the large number of emergency calls and damage reports.
Ishikawa Governor Hiroshi Hase reported that roads in large parts of the prefecture were impassable due to cracks and landslides. In addition, "numerous" boats had capsized in the port of Suzu. The Suzu city administration reported around a thousand completely destroyed houses and a "catastrophic" situation.
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Source: www.ntv.de
