2nd body found after fatal landslide in Japan

TOKYO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Search and rescue officials on Thursday recovered another body from a landslide in southwestern Japan's Oita Prefecture, that engulfed a number of residential homes a day earlier, bringing the death toll to two.

The body is thought to be one of five women aged between 21 and 90 who are still accounted for in the ongoing search missions.

The operations have been severely hamstrung by the sheer volume of debris that need to be searched and removed amid the risk of more landslides, local officials said.

Around 600 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel have been taking part in the search and rescue mission, alongside local police and firefighters and heavy machinery has been used to shift the soil and mud.

Municipal officials in the city of Nakatsu confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that rescue officials had recovered the body of a 45-year-old man.

According to police and government officials in the city of Nakatsu, three houses in the town of Yabakei were buried by a landslide after a mountain slope collapsed at around 3:50 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.

The landslide is believed to have slid around 100 meters, with geological experts saying it might have been triggered by past rainfall or underground water.

The collapsed slope, which was covered in trees, according to local police, was about 200 meters wide and 100 meters high. Enditem