Japan troops search mud as quake toll hits 10

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

KURIHARA, Japan (AFP) — Rescue workers hampered by giant mounds of mud pulled a man's body out of the remains of a devastated hot spring resort on Monday, bringing the death toll from Japan's earthquake to 10.

As the critical first three days for finding survivors drew to a close, ground water was seeping in this mountainous area of northern Japan, causing sludge to cover areas where rescue teams were searching.

Twelve people remain unaccounted for following Saturday's earthquake, which registered 7.2 on the Richter scale, making it the strongest to strike inland in the tremor-prone nation in eight years. Another 264 people were hurt.

The body of the 10th victim was pulled from the Komanoyu inn, a secluded resort in the woods that is now a swamp of mud and...