Death toll from heavy rain in northern Kyushu rises to 12

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FUKUOKA, July 27 Kyodo -
Four more people were confirmed dead Monday in northern Kyushu, including a
5-year-old boy who was swept away by a swollen river, bringing the death toll
from heavy rain in the region to 12.
The four victims include a couple from Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, who were
both well-known figures in domestic and international hot-air balloon
competitions.
The body of 5-year-old Koji Koide was recovered in Chikugo, Fukuoka.
In Onojo, Fukuoka, the bodies of Yoshihiro Inoue, 42, and his wife Minako
Inoue, 39, were found in a van that had been hit by a mudslide on the Kyushu
Expressway, the police said.
Yoshihiro, who was unemployed, and Minako, an elementary school teacher, had
taken part in various hot-air balloon competitions and were gearing up for next
year's world championship in Hungary, the couple's friends said.
Minako held the women's world record for flight duration involving the AX-4
single-seat, small balloon of 7 hours, 4 minutes and 49 seconds, recorded in
Hokkaido in January 2007, according to the Japan Balloon Federation.
In Ureshino, Saga Prefecture, 58-year-old Shigeyoshi Aikawa who went missing
Sunday evening was found dead Monday. Police believe he fell into a swollen
river while walking his dog.
In Yamaguchi Prefecture, a body of a woman, believed to be a 76-year-old
resident of a nursing home for the elderly, was found Monday, bringing the
death toll in the prefecture from mudslides and flooding caused by torrential
downpours to 15, police said.
The government sent an inspection team headed by Motoo Hayashi, state minister
in charge of disaster preparedness, to Fukuoka Prefecture on Monday afternoon.
==Kyodo
2009-07-27 23:41:02