Photos of searchers seeking victims of a Hiroshima bombing 80 years later on a nearby island

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NINOSHIMA, Japan (AP) — When the first atomic bomb detonated 80 years ago on Aug. 6, thousands of the dead and dying were brought to the small, rural island of Ninoshima, just south of Hiroshima, by military boats with crews that had trained for suicide attack missions.

Because of poor medicine and care, only a few hundred were alive when the field hospital closed Aug. 25, according to historical records. They were buried in various locations in chaotic and rushed operations.

Decades later, people in the area are looking for the remains of the missing, driven by a desire to account for and honor the victims and bring relief to survivors who are still tormented by memories of missing loved ones.

Rebun Kayo, a Hiroshima University researcher, regularly visits Ninoshima to search for remains.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.