Military rescuers dug a man out of the ruins of his partially destroyed three-story house earlier today in the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged city of Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture.
The man, aged in his 20s, returned to the home yesterday seeking to salvage personal belongings, Kyodo News reported, citing information from members of his family.
Weak and unable to speak, the man was taken to a hospital in the city, according to a Ministry of Defense spokesman who confirmed an earlier NHK Television report of the finding of a survivor. A different ministry spokesman later said the military rescuers hadn’t known how long the man had been in the rubble. Both spokesmen declined to be identified.
The toll from the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 reached 7,197 people dead and 10,905 missing as of noon local time, according to the National Police Agency.
