APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor has condoled Japan following an earthquake which claimed over 60 lives in the Asian country’s west coast region on New Year’s Day.
The powerful earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, led to the losses and injured dozens of others in the process as aftershocks continued to hit the area, according to press reports.
Pandor said on Tuesday that the government and people of South Africa offered prayers to the government and people of Japan, particularly the families of those who lost their loved ones in the wake of the tragedy.
She commended the “tireless efforts of the rescue and emergency personnel participating in the ongoing rescue operation” where some 1,000 rescuers continued to search for people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.
The Japanese authorities said the death toll rose to 62 on Wednesday as they rushed to bring aid to survivors facing freezing temperatures and heavy rains.
Severed roads, damaged infrastructure and the remote location of the hardest-hit areas have complicated rescue efforts and the full extent of damage and casualties remained unclear two days after the quake, reports said.
The heavy rains forecast in the quake-hit areas have raised fears of landslides, the Japanese authorities said.
NM/jn/APA