The Pope also addressed his thoughts to all those who are working to deal with the damage and deaths caused by the plane crash that occurred last Tuesday in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, according to a note from the Holy See Press Office, published on the Vatican News website.

The quake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, occurred in the Noto Peninsula on January 1, causing the death of at least 65 people and injuries to 304 others, as well as severe structural damage in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa, as well as in the prefectures of Niigata, Fukui, Toyama and Gifu.

According to official reports, there are hundreds of collapsed houses in the towns of Wajima, Suzu and Noto, as well as isolated districts due to the disruption of the road network, hampering rescue efforts.

In addition, on January 2, an Airbus A350-900 passenger plane belonging to Japan Airlines collided with a military aircraft on landing at Tokyo’s Haneda airport with a military plane involved in relief efforts for the victims of the previous day’s earthquake.

ef/jav/ro/ort