Ten Russian tourists are missing after a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Japan on Friday, trigging a tsunami, the Russian Federal Tourism Agency said.
The missing tourists were part of a group of 18 travelling with the Vand International travel company.
The 8.9-magnitude quake that struck about 373 km (232 miles) from the capital, Tokyo, sparked a tsunami that hit the Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, sweeping away houses and cars.
Between 200 and 300 bodies have been found on the coast of the northeastern Japanese city of Sendai. The death toll is rising sharply and could be over 1,000, the Kyodo news agency said.
More earthquakes measuring over 7.0 on the Richter scale could occur in and around Japan in the next month, the Meteorological Agency said.
MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti)
