21:43, 15 March 2011 | GMT +5
Over 10,000 people dead or missing in Japan following quake
MOSCOW. March 15. KAZINFORM Over 10,000 people are reported dead or missing in Japan following a series of powerful earthquakes and a tsunami, the country's Kyodo news agency said on Tuesday, citing police. Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
Large swathes of eastern Japan were left devastated after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast on Friday, sparking a powerful tsunami.
Earlier on Tuesday, Japanese police said that over 6,000 people were dead or missing after the disasters.
A series of aftershocks have since caused blasts in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in the east of the country, raising fears of a nuclear meltdown. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru