FOUR BOYS RESCUED FROM FLOODED THAILAND CAVE

Four boys among a group of 13 trapped in a flooded Thai cave for more than a fortnight were rescued on Sunday, authorities said, raising hopes elite divers would also save the others. The rescued boys had to navigate a treacherous escape route of more than 4 km.

KURASHIKI: The death toll from torrential rain and landslides in western Japan rose to 81 people on Sunday, with dozens still missing after more than 2,000, temporarily stranded in the city of Kurashiki, were rescued.

Evacuation orders were in place for nearly 2 million people and landslide warnings were issued in many prefectures.

Emergency services and military personnel used helicopters and boats to rescue people from swollen rivers and buildings, including a hospital. Scores of staff and patients were rescued from the isolated Mabi Memorial Hospital in boats by members of Japan’s Self Defence Forces.

Kurashiki, with a population of just under 500,000, was among the hardest hit by rains that pounded many parts of western Japan, with the death toll exceeding the 77 killed in heavy rains and landslides in 2014 and the highest since a typhoon that killed 98 people in 2004.

Television footage showed a massive rescue operation, with 2,310 rescued in the city by evening, according to public broadcaster NHK, while search and rescue teams continued to look for others.

The overall death toll from the rains in Japan rose to at least 81 on Sunday after floodwaters forced several million people from their homes, media reports and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

Another 58 were missing, NHK said, and more rain was set to hit some areas for at least another day. The rain set off landslides and flooded rivers, trapping many people in their houses or on rooftops.

“This is a situation of extreme danger,” an official at the Japanese Meteorological Agency told a news conference. REUTERS