JAPAN: More victims of countrys earthquake and tsunami are buried in a mass grave in devastated town of Higashimatsushima

Record ID: 233386

  • Title: JAPAN: More victims of countrys earthquake and tsunami are buried in a mass grave in devastated town of Higashimatsushima
  • Date: 26th March 2011
  • Summary: HIGASHIMATSUSHIMA, MIYAGI PREFECTURE, JAPAN (MARCH 25, 2011) (REUTERS) JAPANESE SOLDIERS TAKING COFFIN OUT OF MILITARY VEHICLE GRIEVING FAMILIES LOOKING ON SOLDIERS CARRYING COFFIN SOLDIERS SALUTING FAMILIES LOOKING ON SOLDIERS PLACING COFFIN INTO THE GROUND SOLDIERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS AT MASS GRAVE SITE FAMILIES AT MASS GRAVE SITE YOUNG BROTHER AND SISTER LOOKING
  • Embargoed: 10th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA6ZIJOISE55SARANTZ60SLUPM5
  • Story Text: More victims of Japan's quake and tsunami are buried in a mass grave in the devastated town of Higashimatsushima, as crematoriums are unable to keep up with mounting death toll.
    More victims of Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami were laid to rest on Friday (March 24) in one of the many devastated towns in the northeast.
    Morgues and crematoriums were overflowing as casualties mounted in the port city of Higashimatsushima, prompting local authorities to prepare mass graves so families can bury their loved ones.
    Self Defence troops laid the coffins in a line, partitioned with slabs of wood. A total of 42 bodies were due to be buried by the end of the day.
    Family members tearfully looked on, offering flowers and sprinkling soil over the caskets.
    Officials and families will exhume and cremate their loved ones at a later date and hold a proper funeral. In Japan, the dead are cremated and ashes placed in an urn which is put in a family grave.
    But with the number of dead topping 9,800 and whole towns and communities washed away by the calamity -- mortuaries and crematoriums which lack the fuel to run their incinerators, are unable to cope with the bodies.
    The bodies which have been identified are being given priority for burials. Authorities hope that more bodies will be claimed and are holding out on burying the unidentified.
    Permission from the victim's family is still required before a body can be buried in a mass grave. City authorities have been carrying out four mass burials a day.
    The tsunami killed more than 600 people and left more than 1,000 missing in Higashimatsushima alone.
    The site in the outskirts of Higashimatsushima, formerly a garbage pit, is expected to accommodate at least 1,000 bodies and more burials are set to continue in the coming days.
    Around 17,500 are still reported missing from the quake and tsunami, the national police agency said. Nearly two weeks after the disaster, efforts are still ongoing to locate and identify victims. Mothers, fathers, spouses and children are still scouring debris in search of their loved ones.
    The mass funerals come as Japan continues to battle a nuclear emergency at the quake crippled Fukushima power plant, where high radiation levels have sparked fear amongst the populace and led to halts to shipments of produce from nearby areas.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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