Classmates and neighbors continued Friday to dig out debris with shovels in their search for Shotaro Ueki, an 18-year-old high school student in Hiroshima who went missing in the wake of last week's torrential rains that caused devastating landslides and flooding across western Japan.
In response to a Twitter message calling for help, many volunteers joined Ueki's mother to look for her son, who is believed to have been engulfed by a landslide in the city of Hiroshima.
"He is a caring person. I want to find him as soon as possible," said Ryota Ogawa, 17, who was in the same tennis club as Ueki.