Polish consular staff in Japan have so far failed to track down eleven Poles who remain unaccounted for since Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.

With over a million Japanese without electricity, making contact is proving highly problematic.

It is believed that two of the eleven Poles in question were located in regions that bore the full force of the tsunami.

However, the Polish Foreign Ministry suspects that the remaining nine, who were staying far from the epicentre during the earthquake, are safe.

“As many as 265 Poles were reported missing after the last week’s earthquake in Japan but 254 were later found and are safe and sound,” said Marcin Bosacki, the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman.

“We are worried about the two Polish citizens who went missing in the tsunami-affected area. We suspect that the remaining nine will sooner or later contact us and we hope that they are safe,” added Bosacki.

Japan’s Kyodo Agency stated on Monday that the fate of some 2,500 foreign travellers in the worst-hit regions is yet to be clarified.

Since Saturday the Foreign Ministry has managed to contact three Poles who also went missing in the region hit by the tsunami. A Polish dance group from the southern region of Silesia decided to shorten its tour in Japan and will soon fly back to Poland via Germany.

More than 500,000 people have been displaced by the disaster, and the death toll is expected to rise to 10,000. (mg/nh/jb)

Source: PAP/BBC