Japan quake death toll 9, searchers dig through rubble

By Elaine Lies

KURIHARA, Japan (Reuters) - Rescue workers searched on Sunday for 11 people still missing after a powerful earthquake rocked rural areas of northern Japan, killing at least nine and injuring more than 200.

Nearly 400 searchers dug through the remains of a remote hot spring resort that was swamped by a massive landslide, killing three people and leaving another four missing after the 7.2 magnitude quake on Saturday morning.

The quake collapsed mountainsides, buckled bridges and swept landslides across roads but casualties were limited by the sparse population in affected areas in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, around 300 km (190 miles) north of Tokyo.

However, there have been hundreds of aftershocks and officials warned there could be strong quakes to come.

"I don't know where we'll go, or what we will do now," said 80-year-old Naoshi Miura, who with his wife Kirino, 76, and their two dogs was airlifted by helicopter from their mountain home.

Rescue workers at the collapsed two-storey inn picked their way through debris on Sunday after carefully crossing a river of mud covered with makeshift wooden boards.

They have so far recovered the bodies of two women and a man from the debris, local officials said.

In other areas, thousands of troops, fire crews and other relief crews worked to clear narrow mountain roads, restore power and water and confirm the fate of other missing people.  Continued...