Japanese search for missing after quake

KURIHARA, Japan -- Rescue teams using shovels and buckets tried early today to dig their way to seven people believed trapped in a landslide at a hot springs resort after a deadly earthquake struck in the mountains of northern Japan, killing at least six and injuring more than 200.

The fire department squads worked as military helicopters buzzed overhead and frequent aftershocks posed the threat of the ground collapsing under their feet.

Saturday's magnitude 7.2 quake triggered several major landslides, blocking roads and stranding bathers at the hot spring resort, which is in a heavily forested mountainous area outside the small city of Kurihara. Crews searching for the missing had to hike mountain trails and dig their way to the worst-hit areas.

"It was the worst quake I have ever felt," said Rinji Sato, whose grocery store is near the epicenter. "We were just lucky this didn't hit a big city."

Search teams have already recovered the bodies of six dead, but believe at least nine more may be missing. News reports put the number of injured at about 260.

The government responded quickly, mobilizing troops, police and fire department rescue teams to find and care for the injured and to recover the dead.

"Our most important task is to save as many lives as possible, and we are doing the best we can," Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said.

Access, however, was a major obstacle. The quake -- followed by more than 200 aftershocks -- buckled roads, including one highway that was severed when a stretch of land collapsed, turning it into a sudden drop-off.

Train service, water and electricity, which had been cut, was restored to most areas.

More than 200 people -- many of them near the hot springs -- remained stranded early today and were being slowly flown out by helicopter.

"We're getting growing reports of damage, but we can't even get out there to assess the situation with roads closed off because of landslides," said city official Norio Sato in Kurihara, one of the worst-hit cities in northern Miyagi prefecture.