(VOVworld) – The death toll from huge landslides in Japan's Hiroshima prefecture has risen to 46, with at least 41 people still missing.

Fire-fighters and police officers search for survivors at a site where a landslide swept through a residential area at Asaminami ward in Hiroshima, western Japan, August 21, 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

Emergency service personnel are continuing the search for survivors three days after torrential rains triggered the mountainside disaster. Volunteers from other parts of the country have joined the rescue effort to back up nearly 3,000 police officers, firefighters and soldiers already involved. Firefighters and soldiers are removing debris by hand where possible because of concerns about using heavy machinery. There is confusion about the number of people who could be trapped in the debris as authorities continue to receive new reports of missing people while others are being found alive at emergency shelters.