PICTURES: Rescue workers scrabble through mud to find stuck survivors as toll reaches 16 in Japan earthquake

A Self-Defence Force serviceman said that there were reports of people being stuck under mud. / Image: AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS

As per reports, around 26 people are still unaccounted for in the town of Atsuma, where a cluster of houses was destroyed. / Image: AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS

A house damaged by the landslide caused by an earthquake is seen in Atsuma town in Hokkaido prefecture on September 6, 2018. Image: AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS

The quake damaged a thermal power plant along with disrupting electricity lines to about 1.6 million households. . / AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / JIJI PRESS / Japan OUT

Death toll in Japan earthquake rose to 16. Japanese rescue workers with bulldozers and sniffer dogs were seen scrabbling through the mud on Thursday to find survivors of the devastating landslide that caused houses to collapse. Image: AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS