The Korea Herald

소아쌤

Five missing S. Koreans rescued in Japan

By 문예빈

Published : March 17, 2011 - 10:57

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Five South Korean residents and travelers who went missing after a massive earthquake hit Japan's northeast region were rescued on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said.
 

Members of a British search and rescue team begin their search for trapped people as snow falls in Kamaishi, Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Two search and rescue teams from the U.S. and a team from the U.K. with combined numbers of around 220 personnel searched the town for survivors Wednesday to help in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. (AP-Yonhap) Members of a British search and rescue team begin their search for trapped people as snow falls in Kamaishi, Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Two search and rescue teams from the U.S. and a team from the U.K. with combined numbers of around 220 personnel searched the town for survivors Wednesday to help in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. (AP-Yonhap)

The five, including a 52-year-old woman identified only as Kim and her sister and brother-in-law, were saved by a South Korean rescue team in Ishinomaki and another northeastern coastal city in Miyagi Prefecture, the ministry said.

They allegedly escaped to a nearby shelter as soon as the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated Japan's Tohoku region on Friday. They asked the South Korean consulate general in Sendai for help on Wednesday when telecommunications in the quake-hit areas were reconnected for the first time since the disaster.

The South Korean government has been trying to find the location of about 70 South Korean residents in the Tohoku region where the quake and tsunami claimed thousands of lives.

"We found that there are 1,600 more people in the shelter where Kim and others were staying," a ministry official said. "We're trying to find out if there are more South Korean residents and travelers among them," the official added.

(Yonhap News)

<관련 기사>

日지진 연락두절 교민ㆍ여행객 5명 구조

일본 도호쿠(東北) 해안 지역에서 강진 발생 이후 연락 두절 상태였던 교민과 여행객 일부가 구조됐다.

외교통상부는 16일 정부 신속대응팀이 일본 미야기현 이시노마키와 카미조에서 교민 김모(52.여)씨와 김씨의 언니.형부 등 한국인 5명을 구조했다고 이날 밝혔다.

이들은 지난 11일 지진이 발생하자 인근 대피소로 급히 몸을 피했으며, 이날 처음으로 통신이 연결되자 주센다이 총영사관에 구조 요청을 해온 것으로 알려졌다.

정부는 그동안 도호쿠 해안 지역에 거주하고 있는 우리 교민 등 약 70명과 연락이 되지 않아 이들의 소재 파악에 주력해왔다.

외교부 관계자는 "김씨 등이 머물던 대피소에 1천600명 가량이 있는 것으로  파악됐다"면서 "이 가운데 우리 교민이나 여행객이 더 있는지 확인 중"이라고 말했다.

한편 정부는 일본 외무성이 이번 지진.해일 사태로 행방불명된 우리 국민 관련 정보를 요청해옴에 따라 영사콜센터 및 일본 주재 공관을 통해 가족과 친인척 등의 안전 확인 신청을 받고 있다.

(연합뉴스)