Society

Large search operation begins in rain-hit Kumamoto

Jul 20 (NHK) - A large-scale search has started in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, for two people who remain missing more than two weeks after record amounts of rain fell in the area.

The downpour that battered the prefecture on July 4 caused the Kuma River to overflow and triggered landslides. Sixty-five people died in the prefecture. Two individuals remain unaccounted for. One is a 63-year-old man. The other is a 90-year-old woman. Officials say the two may have been swept away by the swollen river.

On Monday, police officers, members of the Self-Defense Forces, and personnel from other bodies began a two-day search along the Kuma River. About 1,000 people participated in the operation.

Roughly 140 members of the Ground Self-Defense Force lined up side by side and searched for clues in a riverside area in Yatsushiro City. The area is located downstream from where the two missing people lived.

The Ground Self-Defense Force members used a drone to check the piers of a bridge, where driftwood has piled up.

Members of the Maritime Self-Defense Force searched the mouth of the river by boat. Patrol vessels and aircraft were deployed in the sea.

The operation will continue through Tuesday. A total of 2,000 workers are expected to take part.

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