Second deadly quake hits Japan, "race against time" to find survivors

TOKYO: Japanese rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings and mud on Saturday to reach dozens believed trapped after a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck a southern island, killing at least 26 people and injuring about a thousand.

The shallow earthquake hit in the early hours, sending people fleeing from their beds and on to dark streets, and follows a 6.4 magnitude quake on Thursday which killed nine people in the area.