A MAN who was rescued at sea 15km off Japan's northeast coast was found clinging to a piece of his home's shredded roof two days after the deadly tsunami tore through his home city and swept his wife away.
Adrift in the Pacific Ocean, Hiromitsu Shinkawa tried in vain to signal the many boats and helicopters that passed by his makeshift raft. But it was not until Sunday afternoon when, waving a hand-made red cloth flag, he drew the attention of a nearby Japanese navy destroyer. By that time, the 60-year-old had drifted 15km from his home city of Minamisoma, in Fukushima prefecture, which had been virtually obliterated by Friday's 9-magnitude earthquake and the tsunami that followed.
Sailors from the Japanese destroyer used a small rescue boat to pluck the man out of the water, describing him as conscious and in "good condition".
Officials from Japan's Defence Ministry said the sailors handed Mr Shinkawa a drink of water aboard the rescue boat, which he gulped down before immediately bursting into tears.
Mr Shinkawa's wife -- who was reportedly torn from the man's arms in the tidal wave -- was still among those missing yesterday. He explained to the rescuers that he and his wife returned to their home to gather their possessions after the quake struck. As the tsunami began to roar across the landscape towards then, Mr Shinkawa said they tried to run, but it was too late. "I ran away after learning that the tsunami was coming," he told the sailors, according to Jiji Press. "But I turned back to pick up something at home when I was washed away."
While he was able to scramble on to his roof, Mr Shinkawa's wife was swept away. She was yesterday still among the nearly 10,000 Minamisoma residents who were unaccounted for.
Mr Shinkawa was taken to hospital by helicopter from the Japanese destroyer.
Japanese military officials said he was lucky that mild weather and relatively calm seas enabled him to stay afloat for nearly two days, the Kyodo news agency reported.
The city is located 70km south of the hardest-hit city of Sendai, and 250km northeast of Tokyo.