'It's so sad' - rescue worker

2004-10-28 09:25

Tokyo - A three-year-old girl buried in the rubble of an earthquake-triggered landslide in northern Japan was declared dead on Thursday, the day after rescuers pulled her younger brother alive from the wreckage.

Workers were still struggling to free Mayu Minagawa's body from the car where she, her mother and her brother were buried in Saturday's 6.8-magnitude earthquake, but they had confirmed that she was dead, said Tetsuya Hasebe of the Niigata Prefectural government.

"It's so sad," he said.

The death brought the toll in Saturday's quake to 33.

Killed on impact

Workers rescued two-year-old Yuta on Wednesday in a dramatic rescue broadcast live on national television. Shortly afterward they retrieved Takako Minagawa, 39, from the driver's seat but she was declared dead at a hospital.

Officials said the impact of the crash killed her almost immediately.

The team worked through the night to reach Mayu in hopes of finding her alive, but were having trouble early on Thursday because she was deeply lodged inside the van, which lay at a steep incline, officials said.

An unidentified rescue crew member told public broadcaster NHK that the boulders virtually demolished the van, adding that workers had moved slowly because there was a risk that removing rocks blocking the path to Mayu might set off a mini-landslide.

Yuta happened to find a one-metre-tall opening under the boulders where he kept relatively warm for four days, even in the late October chill.

Officials at Nagaoka Red Cross Hospital later said the boy was suffering from dehydration, hypothermia and a large gash on his head, but was in stable condition. NHK public broadcaster quoted the toddler telling his father that he drank milk in the car, and he asked for melons and water at the hospital.

The rescue effort captivated Japan, feeding the country with hopeful news after Saturday's quake, which had also injured over 2 000.

Possible aftershocks

Earthquake survivors camped out in temporary shelters gathered around television sets, watching crew members pull Yuta and his mother out from under the boulders.

The rescue effort was hobbled by continuing aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.1 jolt on Wednesday morning that triggered even more landslides across Niigata, a largely rural area 250km north of Tokyo.

In the four days since Saturday's quake, the Meteorological Agency recorded 526 aftershocks strong enough for people to feel.

Agency official Masahiro Yamamoto warned that a magnitude-6 aftershock could hit the area within three days, urging residents to take caution and stay away from damaged buildings.

About 100 000 residents remain in public shelters amid fears the aftershocks could trigger more landslides. Thousands more camped out in tents and cars, too afraid to return home.

- AP