Japan launches massive search for tsunami bodies
Soldiers prodded marshy ground with slender poles Monday as 25,000 troops scoured Japan's northeast coast for the bodies of nearly 12,000 missing people, in the largest search since last month's earthquake and tsunami.
The operation was the third intensive military search since the March 11 disaster, which splintered buildings, flattened towns and killed up to 26,000 people. With waters receding, officials hope the team, which also includes police, coast guard and U.S. troops, will make significant progress during the two-day operation.
In the town of Shichigahamamachi, a line of about two dozen Japanese soldiers walked in unison across soggy earth and muddy pools of water, plunging their poles about 2 feet (60 centimeters) into the muck to ensure that they don't miss any bodies buried below. The search focused on a marsh drained in recent weeks by members of the army's 22nd infantry regiment using special pump trucks.
In all, 370 troops from the regiment were searching for a dozen people still missing from Shichigahamamachi. The regiment had been searching the area with a far smaller contingent, but tripled the number of troops it was using for the two-day intense search, said Col. Akira Kun itomo, the regimental commander.