Death toll in Japan mudslide rises to 7, with 27 still missing

The death toll from a large mudslide in a central Japan city rose to seven on Tuesday, as local authorities continued their search in a race against the clock to find 27 people still unaccounted for three days after the disaster.The initial 72 hours, considered a crucial period for finding survivors, elapsed at around 10:30 a.m. in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, where 1,700 firefighters, police and Self-Defense Forces personnel continued to remove debris and search mud-swamped houses.The city government confirmed Tuesday the death of a man and two women, which brought the total death toll to s…READ FULL ARTICLE