Rescuers slog through mud in Japan resort where 20 missing

Rescue workers are slogging through mud and debris looking for at least 20 people missing since a giant landslide ripped through a Japanese seaside resort town and killed at least three people

TOKYO -- Rescue workers slogged through mud and debris Monday looking for at least 20 people missing since a giant landslide ripped through a Japanese seaside resort town and killed at least three people. Mud crashed into rows of houses on a mountainside in Atami early Saturday following several days of heavy rains. Witnesses heard a giant roar and then saw the homes swallowed by muddy waves. Bystanders were heard gasping in horror on cell phone videos taken as it happened. Hundreds of troops, firefighters and other rescue workers toiled in thick mud on the city streets, the scene obscured by continuing rains and fog. Their work was backed by three coast guard ships, and six military drones were being deployed. Mariko Hattori, an interpreter who lives a short walk away, at first didn’t know what happened. “The first things I noticed were lots of emergency vehicles,” she said. “Then I was frightened when I saw the footage.”