Japanese workers begin search for tsunami bodies in Okawa 19 months later

Okawa, an area to the south of the Kitakami river, which flooded despite extensive embankments, was left beneath the level of the sea due to the massive surface movements caused by the March 11, 2011 earthquake.

It has taken engineers 19 months to build new protective dykes and pump the seawater out of an area covering 106 hectares.

In total, 15,870 people have been confirmed dead in north-east Japan, while a further 2,814 are still listed as missing. Of the missing, 23 were swept away from this district of the city of Ishinomaki, including four children and one teacher from the school.

The remains of 74 pupils at the school have been identified.

Teams made up of police officers, employees of the city board of education and other volunteers began the search on Monday, sifting through the mud and debris with hand tools while heavy machinery excavated larger sections.

"We will search without overlooking a single bone fragment and return the bodies to their families as soon as possible," Akihiko Sato, a local police officer, told Kyodo News.

Officials said the search will continue until March next year, which will see the second anniversary of the disaster.

On Saturday, the Emperor and Empress are scheduled to visit residents of a village that sits astride the 12.4 miles exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The Imperial couple will meet residents of the village of Kawauchi who are living in temporary housing units and see progress in efforts to decontaminate the area of radiation.

Of the village's 3,000 original residents, around 500 have returned after being evacuated shortly after the Fukushima reactors released huge amounts of radiation into the surrounding countryside.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9597740/Japanese-workers-begin-search-for-tsunami-bodies-in-Okawa-19-months-later.html