Tokyo: The number of victims of the 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway by the AUM Shinrikyo cult is almost 6,300 in a nationwide police survey -- far more than the earlier estimate of over 5,000, the National Police Agency said on Thursday.
The tally as of the end of February shows that 6,252 people were either lightly or seriously injured, while raising the death toll to 13 from 12, adding the case of a man who died the next day in an accident after inhaling sarin during the attack on March 20, 1995, it said.
In addition, police are confirming the cases of 34 others who have applied for benefits under a relief law that took effect in December 2008.
The previous estimate of over 5,000 victims was based chiefly on the Tokyo Fire Department's records of taking those affected to hospitals. The 12 deaths have so far been citied in the trials of AUM founder Shoko Asahara and members of the cult on murder and other charges.
Of those injured, 90 have filed applications for lingering illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorders and paralysis of the limbs.
The police conducted the survey under the law to redress those who went to hospital due to the attack and seven other AUM crime cases, based on investigation records and official documents, such as applications for workers' compensation insurance.
The victims of all eight cases amount to 6,564, and a total of JPY 2,342 million have already been paid to 5,003, or about 76 percent of them.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010, 12:50