Three more bodies found after Japan earthquake
Sunday, 15 Jun 2008 14:15
The epicentre of the earthquake was 250 miles north-west of the country's capital Tokyo
The death toll from yesterday's 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Japan has risen to nine after three bodies were found today, according to officials.
Over 200 people have suffered injuries in the quake and twelve people are still said to be missing.
Hundreds of aftershocks have been reported since the natural disaster making relief work in the devastated areas difficult. Damaged roads and the threat of mudslides have also hindered rescue operations and made it difficult to reach all affected parts.
The epicentre of yesterday's 7.2-magnitude earthquake, which struck at 08:43 local time, was over 250 miles away from Tokyo but tremors were still felt in the capital in spite of the distance from the quake zone.
The quake also caused a fuel leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant resulting in radioactive water escaping from two normally secure containers.
Japan is situated in an earthquake-prone zone and it experienced its last major earthquake in 1995 when over 6,000 people were killed in the city of Kobe.