New rescue team flies to Japan

LONDON, March 15 (KUNA) -- A second UK search and rescue team has flown to Japan to help the aid effort, after the huge earthquake and tsunami, the UK government said Tuesday. Twelve volunteers from Scotland-based International Rescue Corps arrived in Tokyo on Monday night, from where they will be deployed by the authorities. Foreign Secretary William Hague has spoken to his Japanese counterpart about Britons still missing, and ways the UK can assist with the catastrophe. He said he was "very worried" about UK nationals not yet accounted for. The UK has also offered its expertise to help Japan with its nuclear crisis. Thousands of people are believed to have died when a 9.0-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami struck on Friday. The latest official death toll stands at about 2,400 - but some estimates suggest 10,000 may have been killed. The event has sparked a nuclear emergency, with three reactors exploding in four days at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 250km (155 miles) north-east of Tokyo. Hague spoke to Japan's foreign minister, Takeaki Matsumoto, last night in Paris, where G8 representatives are meeting. "I stressed...the importance of our embassy working with local authorities across Japan, because clearly we are very worried about British nationals who are not yet accounted for." He told reporters, "Then there is longer-term work that we will do to assist Japan in the process of trying to recover from its worst catastrophe since 1945." Earlier Prime Minister David Cameron said there were "severe concerns" for a number of British nationals, but no confirmed deaths. Hundreds of thousands in the affected areas have been made homeless, while millions have been left without food, water and power. Earlier a 63-strong UK International Search and Rescue (Isar) team deployed by the Department for International Development arrived at its base 12 miles (20km) outside Ofunato in the north-east. Ofunato, about 100 miles north of Sendai, is one of the many coastal communities laid waste by the power of the tsunami. The British team said pictures of the town had indicated there were many large buildings damaged but still standing, in which there may be survivors. The team of 59 search and rescue experts, four medics and two sniffer dogs are hunting for victims still alive who may be trapped in rubble and debris. Meanwhile, Cameron said the government had asked the UK's Chief Nuclear Inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, to report on the implications of the situation at the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant for British facilities. He said, "This is clearly a fast-moving and rapidly changing picture, and the Japanese government are doing everything they can to manage the situation they are facing." The European Commission is holding a meeting of ministers and experts today to discuss the implications. The German and the Swiss governments have suspended decisions on their nuclear programmes, and an Austrian minister has called for new safety tests on nuclear reactors across the continent. For his part, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said the UK would need to learn "everything we can" about the Japanese disaster. One lesson could be learnt is to employ more caution on where nuclear plants are sited, he added. (end) he.nfm KUNA 151309 Mar 11NNNN