Rescue workers have found 30 or more people unconscious and thought to be dead near the peak of an erupting volcano in central Japan, local government and police said yesterday.
Nagano Prefecture posted on its Web site that about 30 people had heart and lung failure, the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police physicians can examine it. At least four people were being brought down from 3,067m Mount Ontake yesterday afternoon, a day after it began erupting.
A Nagano police official numbered unconscious people at more than 30. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Mount Ontake, about 210km west of Tokyo, began erupting shortly before noon on Saturday, spewing large white plumes of gas and ash high into the sky and blanketing the surrounding area in ash. The mountain is a popular climbing destination and at least 250 people were initially trapped on the slopes, though most made their way down by Saturday night.
Before the unconscious victims were found, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said that 45 people had been reported missing. The exact location of the people and their identities were not immediately known.
Rescue workers were also trying to help injured people and others who had been stranded on the mountain overnight, many taking refuge in mountain lodges. Some were unable to descend on their own, or unwilling to take the risk.
Seven people were picked up in three helicopter trips, Japanese Ministry of Defense official Toshihiko Muraki said. All are conscious and can walk, though details of their conditions were unclear, he said.
Japanese television footage showed a soldier descending from a helicopter to an ash-covered slope, helping latch on a man and then the two of them being pulled up.
Japan’s Self-Defense Force has deployed seven helicopters and 250 troops. Police and fire departments are also taking part in the rescue effort.
Shinichi Shimohara, who works at a shrine at the foot of the mountain, said he was on his way up on Saturday morning when he heard a loud noise that sounded like strong winds followed by “thunder” as the volcano erupted.
“For a while, I heard thunder pounding a number of times,” he said. “Soon after, some climbers started descending. They were all covered with ash, completely white. I thought to myself, this must be really serious.”
The volcano’s most recent major eruption was in 1979.
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