The death toll from devastating midweek landslides in Hiroshima rose to 50 today, as fresh rain stoked fears of more disasters and hampered search and rescue teams.
The regional police headquarters in the western Japan city said 38 other people remained unaccounted for, four days after unusual downpours triggered landslides that swallowed dozens of homes, many of them perched on hillside housing areas.
A total of about 3,000 rescuers including ground troops, fire fighters and police continued digging through mud and debris but the search and rescue operation overnight was halted at around dawn Sunday as fresh rain raised concerns about more landslips