Remains of girl, 6, identified 60 miles away from home after she was swept away in historic tsunami

Authorities have confirmed that they have finally identified and recovered the remains of a person discovered over a decade after a deadly tsunami.

Natural disasters can often be devastating, and it is normally due to luck and/or preparation that people are able to survive.

Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case and the tsunami that Japan suffered way back in 2011 proved to be particularly deadly.

An undersea earthquake in the Pacific Ocean only lasted a matter of minutes, but had truly damaging ripple effects.

On March 11, 2011, the earthquake proved to be the most powerful ever recorded in Japan, at a 9.1 magnitude quake.

The tsunami arrived at the coast within 30 minutes, causing unimaginable damage and resulting in the deaths of over 18,000 people.

As well as this, thousands of victims were never recovered.

The tsunami caused massive damage in 2011 (Satoshi Takahashi/LightRocket via Getty Images)

For one family, they have likely been given some closure after it was revealed that the remains of a 6-year-old girl, who was impacted by the tsunami, have been identified.

Natsuse Yamane was at home with her family in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, when the tsunami struck and swept her away.

Several of her teeth and parts of her jaw were discovered in February 2023 after a construction company volunteered to clean the sidewalks and beaches in the coastal town of Miyagi.

Natsuse’s remains were discovered more than 60 miles away from her home.

According to reports, experts were able to use mitochondrial DNA analysis as well as analysis of the proteins on the teeth to identify the child. The DNA testing showed that the remains were related to the child’s mother.

Regarding the discovery, a spokesman for the local police told Agence France-Presse: “After dental and DNA identification analyses, it was confirmed the remains belong to Natsuse Yamane, female, who was six years old at the time.”

Natsuse's remains were found in 2023 and have only now been identified (Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)

The family of Natsuse spoke to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun and issued a statement about the discovery.

The statement read: “We are grateful to those who volunteered to clean the area where the remains were found, to those who discovered them while sorting the collected items, and to the police officers who continued the investigation without giving up.

“We were surprised to be contacted after losing hope, but we are truly happy.”

Authorities are expected to return Natsuse’s remains to her family in the coming days.