Typhoon Dianmu hits southern Japan, four dead or missing

TOKYO (AFP) Jun 20, 2004
Three people were dead and one missing after a powerful typhoon slammed a string of islands in the East China Sea Sunday as it churned north toward Japan's mainland, officials and reports said.

The eye of Typhoon Dianmu, packing winds of up to 160 kilometersmiles) per hour, was on course to reach the western Japanese island of Shikoku at around 9:00 am Monday (0000 GMT), the Meteorological Agency said.

It is expected to cut across the main island of Honshu and into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) on Monday, the agency said.

The bodies of two university students were found Sunday after they were swept away by a wave while having a barbecue party Saturday night on a beach in Shizuoka, some 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Tokyo, Shizuoka police said.

A 32-year-old male surfer drowned off the southern beach on the main Okinawan island while a 73-year-old angler went missing when he was fishing on Kozu, a Pacific islet some 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Tokyo, Japan Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The typhoon's centre was located some 110 kilometers (70 miles) off the Japanese island of Amami, north of the Okinawan chain, at 2:00 pm (0500 GMT), the agency said.

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