Australia sends in search and rescue teams

AUSTRALIAN officials are moving into the earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged area north of Sendai and a Melbourne man, missing in the area and feared dead, was believed found last night.

A consular team is in Sendai to provide assistance to Australians and has been in contact with local authorities and hospitals to assess the situation, but there are no foreign patients in the three hospitals the team has contacted.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had been concerned by reports that Jason Briffa, 25, of Melbourne, was missing in the Sendai area, where he is an English teacher.

His sister Melissa said his employer had contacted the family last night to say Mr Briffa was fine and would be in touch shortly. Her brother's boss said he had been involved in rescue work. ''That sounds like him,'' Ms Briffa said.

She said that while family members were relieved, they were still anxious. ''Until we hear his voice we do not want to get up false hopes.''

A team of Australian officials will today try to enter the worst-affected areas of the Sendai region, where 121 of the 277 Australians registered have been confirmed as safe.

''Conditions permitting, the team will proceed further north to some of the hardest hit areas,'' a DFAT spokesman said. ''Conditions are expected to make travel in this area difficult and slow.''

There are now 18 Australian officials from DFAT, the Department of Immigration and Centrelink in Japan, in addition to 37 officials usually based in Tokyo.

The government was running advertisements on Japanese radio asking Australians to contact the embassy, the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, said.

A 76-person Australian search and rescue team is preparing to move from Tokyo to Minamisanriku, one of the towns hardest hit by the disaster. The Kyodo news agency reported yesterday that about 1000 bodies had been seen in the town, but authorities had been unable to contact another 10,000 inhabitants.

The Australian team consists mainly of firefighter rescue specialists who will be supported by eight paramedics, two structural engineers, two doctors and a police officer. Their task has been hampered by difficulties securing local supplies of fuel and bottled water.

The rescuers have no mobile phone coverage and will have road access by car only to within five kilometres of the area they will search. They will have to cover the rest on foot. Today they will start work on establishing an operations base, then begin a reconnaissance of the area.

The government is concerned about the situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, about 80 kilometres south of Sendai, where there was a second explosion yesterday morning.

''According to the Japan Nuclear Safety Agency, the external walls of tank No. 3 are gone and only the frames remain. The plant director on site has said the actual nuclear container remains intact,'' a DFAT spokesman said.

''An increase in the level of radiation is expected and there is a low possibility that large amounts of radiation will be released. Data is being collected now to confirm the situation.''

However, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency has advised that the radiation emissions recorded at the Onagawa nuclear power plant, north of Sendai, have now returned to normal, DFAT said.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd, yesterday dismissed accusations that he had been insensitive in demanding a briefing on the situation at the power plants less than 48 hours after the earthquake.

''I can say very clearly that if you have 11,000 Australian citizens on the ground in Japan and you're getting conflicting information on day one about the safety of these nuclear facilities, my responsibility as the Minister for Foreign Affairs is the consular well-being of all Australians,'' Mr Rudd said.

Australians who give to the relief effort in Japan will be able to claim their donations as a tax deduction. The Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, has announced the Australian Taxation Office will consider the earthquake and tsunami a disaster for tax purposes.

Donations to funds are tax deductible for two years from the date of the disaster.

with Tim Lester