The death toll from a powerful quake that triggered landslides in northern Japan rose to 35 Saturday, as tens of thousands of rescue workers raked through the mud for survivors.
The majority of the dead are from the small rural town of Atsuma, where a cluster of dwellings were wrecked when a hillside collapsed from the force of the 6.6-magnitude quake, causing deep brown scars in the landscape.
Public broadcaster NHK said 35 were dead, with around five people still unaccounted for in the town.
More than 600 sustained minor injuries, according to the Hokkaido island local government.
"We never had landslides here," said Akira Matsushita who lost his brother in Atsuma.
"I couldn't believe until I saw it with my own eyes," he told TV Asahi.
"When I saw it, I knew no-one could survive."