11 missing after Japan earthquake

KURIHARA, Japan: Rescue workers yesterday were searching for 11 people missing after a powerful earthquake hit northern Japan on Saturday, killing at least nine persons and injuring 234.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao sent messages to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, mourning the dead and sympathizing with survivors, immediately after the 7.2 magnitude quake struck.

About 400 searchers dug through the remains of a remote hot spring resort that was destroyed in a massive landslide, killing three people and leaving four missing.