Amidst the horrors of the Japanese earthquake, one man had a miraculous escape after being swept nine miles out to sea by the resulting tsunami.
3:08pm UK, Sunday March 13, 2011
Juliet Bagnall, Sky News Online
Amidst the horrors of the Japanese earthquake, one man had a miraculous escape after being swept nine miles out to sea by the resulting tsunami.
Sixty-year-old Hiromitsu Shinkawa was discovered clinging to the wreckage of his house two days after the disaster struck, officials said.
He was plucked to safety by a Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyer which spotted him floating on a piece of roof in waters off Fukushima prefecture.
The survivor, from the city of Minamisoma which has been virtually obliterated, was swept out along with his house after the massive tsunami tore into Japan's north-east coast.
Ministry officials said Mr Shinkawa was conscious and in "good condition" after his rescue.
He was airlifted to hospital by helicopter.
"I ran away after learning that the tsunami was coming," Mr Shinkawa told rescuers, according to Jiji Press.
"But I turned back to pick up something at home, when I was washed away. I was rescued while I was hanging to the roof from my house."
The government has said at least 1,800 people are believed to have lost their lives in the disaster, and police estimate more than 215,000 people are huddled in emergency shelters.
However, the police chief of the badly-hit Miyagi prefecture said that the death toll was certain to exceed 10,000 in his district alone.