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Japanese troops search mountain after volcano traps dozens Japanese troops search mountain after volcano traps dozens
(about 1 hour later)
More than 500 Japanese military and police are searching the slopes of a volcano popular with hikers a day after its sudden eruption trapped hundreds on the mountain for hours, amid conflicting reports about missing and injured climbers.More than 500 Japanese military and police are searching the slopes of a volcano popular with hikers a day after its sudden eruption trapped hundreds on the mountain for hours, amid conflicting reports about missing and injured climbers.
Japanese media said seven people were reported to be unconscious, possibly buried in ash, as Mount Ontake continued to spew smoke and ash into the sky, while local officials said they were trying to confirm the whereabouts of 32 hikers. Television reports said more than 30 people have been found in a state of “cardiopulmonary” arrest near the top of the volcano, but did not say if they were alive.
Late on Saturday, Japanese media reported that one woman was dead but that was later withdrawn. At least 40 people were injured, including several with broken bones, officials said. Japan does not confirm deaths until a formal examination has been made. A Nagano prefectural official was unable to confirm the NHK TV report, Reuters said.
It was reported earlier on Sunday that 32 people were missing on the mountain west of Tokyo. At least 40 people were injured, including several with broken bones, officials said.
“It’s very hard to know what’s happening on the mountain now and things could change,” said one official with the government of Nagano prefecture, one of two prefectures straddled by the 3,067m-high (10,062ft) peak.“It’s very hard to know what’s happening on the mountain now and things could change,” said one official with the government of Nagano prefecture, one of two prefectures straddled by the 3,067m-high (10,062ft) peak.
Hundreds of people, including children, were stranded on the peak after it erupted without warning just before noon on Saturday, sending ash pouring down the slope for more than 3 km (2 miles.) Most made their way down that evening but some 30 were still stranded on Sunday morning.Hundreds of people, including children, were stranded on the peak after it erupted without warning just before noon on Saturday, sending ash pouring down the slope for more than 3 km (2 miles.) Most made their way down that evening but some 30 were still stranded on Sunday morning.
Video footage showed huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people scrambling to descend as blackness enveloped them.Video footage showed huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people scrambling to descend as blackness enveloped them.
“All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn’t even open the door,” Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain hut just below the peak, told Reuters. The hut quickly filled with hikers taking refuge.“All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn’t even open the door,” Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain hut just below the peak, told Reuters. The hut quickly filled with hikers taking refuge.
“We were really packed in here, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down.”“We were really packed in here, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down.”
The mountain, some 200km west of Tokyo, is a popular site to view autumn foliage, currently at its best.The mountain, some 200km west of Tokyo, is a popular site to view autumn foliage, currently at its best.
Flights at Tokyo’s Haneda airport suffered delays as planes changed routes to avoid the peak, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, but were mostly back to normal by Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said.Flights at Tokyo’s Haneda airport suffered delays as planes changed routes to avoid the peak, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, but were mostly back to normal by Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said.
Volcanoes erupt periodically in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active nations, but there have been no fatalities since 1991, when 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in southwestern Japan. An official at the volcano division of the Japan Meteorological Agency said that, while there had been a rising number of small earthquakes detected at Ontake since 10 September, the eruption could not have been predicted easily.Volcanoes erupt periodically in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active nations, but there have been no fatalities since 1991, when 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in southwestern Japan. An official at the volcano division of the Japan Meteorological Agency said that, while there had been a rising number of small earthquakes detected at Ontake since 10 September, the eruption could not have been predicted easily.
“There were no other signs of an imminent eruption, such as earth movements or changes on the mountain’s surface,” the official told Reuters. “With only the earthquakes, we couldn’t really say this would lead to an eruption.”“There were no other signs of an imminent eruption, such as earth movements or changes on the mountain’s surface,” the official told Reuters. “With only the earthquakes, we couldn’t really say this would lead to an eruption.”