Japanese and US troops have launched an intensive search in northern Japan to recover bodies of those killed in the 11 March earthquake and tsunami.

More than 11,500 people have been confirmed dead, but nearly 16,500 are still unaccounted for.

Troops, police and firefighters will spend three days searching coastal areas inaccessible by road and the hardest hit towns and villages.

Some 120 aircraft and 65 ships are involved in the search. Divers are scouring the mouths of rivers and the shoreline.

In the worst-hit areas, piles of vehicles and vessels swept ashore by the tsunami and the rubble of destroyed houses have hampered access.

One Japanese soldier said he hoped the search operation would bring some relief to the families of the missing.