By DPA,
Tokyo : A 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook north-eastern Japan early Saturday, killing at lest three people and injuring more than 80.
Michitaka Ishii, 55, was found dead in the ocean in Fukushima province. He was reportedly pushed into the water by a landslide while fishing at the time of the earthquake, according to police.
No tsunami warnings were issued.
Tomozo Chiba, 60, died after being hit by a truck in Iwate province as he left the house during the earthquake.
Masahiko Chiba, 48, died in a hospital after he was hit by rolling rocks and fell unconscious.
Some 20 passengers and a driver were trapped inside a bus, which rolled off a road. Four of them were seriously wounded, according to television reports.
Seven people were buried when a hotel collapsed in a landslide at a hot spring resort of Koma in Miyagi province.
Japan’s Self-Defence Force and Tokyo Fire Department sent relief teams to rescue people buried under collapsed houses and landslides in the quake-hit regions.
At least 83 people were injured in three northern provinces of Iwate, Miyagi and Akita.
About 29,000 households in the quake-hit areas were left without electricity.
The epicenter of the quake was approximately 10 km beneath south Iwate, said the meteorological center.
Express train service in the region was stopped automatically for safety reasons and operators of atomic power plants announced no incidents, according to early media reports.