Japan disaster dead, missing toll tops 17,000

TOKYO - The number of people unaccounted for rose slightly to 10,316, putting the combined total of dead and missing at 17,227, the National Police Agency said in its latest update. A total of 2,356 people were injured.

The March 11 quake is now Japan's deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 142,000 people.

The toll from the disaster one week ago has increased steadily in recent days, and reports suggest it could eventually be much higher.

The mayor of the coastal town of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture said late Wednesday that the number of missing there was likely to hit 10,000, Kyodo News reported.

ORIGINAL SOURCE