Ash and gases halt search on Japanese volcano Ontake

[Buster's Uncle]

News Guide: Ash and gases halt search on volcano
Associated Press
By KEN MORITSUGU and MARI YAMAGUCHI  4 hours ago



An aerial view shows mountain lodges with heavily damaged roof top in the erupted Mount Ontake, central Japan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Japanese soldiers managed to bring down eight more bodies by helicopter from the ash-blanketed peak of a still-erupting volcano on Monday, before toxic gases and ash forced them to suspend the recovery effort in the early afternoon.(AP Photo/Kyodo News)



Toxic gases and ash were still coming from the Mount Ontake volcano Monday, halting the search for more victims and the recovery of the bodies. Here's a summary of events and a guide to understanding them:
___

SEARCH AND RECOVERY

So far, 12 bodies of victims killed in Saturday's eruption have been recovered, and 24 are still on the mountain. Several hundred emergency workers and soldiers are involved in the effort to remove the bodies and search for any others.

___


Firefighters and members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces descend Mount Ontake after they called off a search operation due to noxious fume in central Japan, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. Mount Ontake erupted shortly before noon Saturday, spewing large white plumes of gas and ash high into the sky and blanketing the surrounding area in ash. Rescue workers have found 30 or more people unconscious and believed to be dead near the peak of an erupting volcano in central Japan, local government and police said. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)


A MOUNTAINTOP SHRINE

Ontake Shrine at the summit sits atop a stone platform overlooking verdant hills. The shrine, a lodge below it and nearby rocks are covered in ash up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) deep. The victims were found in or near the shrine and the lodge.

___

HOW THE VICTIMS DIED

Authorities are focusing on three possible causes: injuries from rocks ejected from the volcano, toxic gases, suffocation from lung-choking ash — or some combination of them. At least some of the bodies had severe bruises, a Nagano prefecture police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Two experts said rocks flying out of the craters could be the main cause, because of the way the deaths are concentrated in one area near the summit. One survivor who protected her head with a knapsack told a Japanese broadcaster that she found a thermos inside flattened afterward.

Hikers might also have been incapacitated, either by flying rocks or toxic gases, and suffocated under a reported ashfall of up to 50 centimeters (20 inches). Hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide can cause serious damage to the respiratory system, said Koji Ono, an official in the Japan Meteorological Agency's volcanic section.

___

VOLCANO'S STATUS

The current alert status is Level 3, meaning people should pay attention to volcanic activity and should not approach the volcano. The scale ranges from Level 1, meaning emissions generally are contained within the crater, to Level 5, which is a warning to evacuate.

___

Online: Japan Meteorological Agency (in English): http://www.jma.go.jp/en/volcano/


http://news.yahoo.com/news-guide-ash-gases-halt-search-volcano-140856077.html

[Buster's Uncle]

At least 36 feared dead on Japanese volcano, search called off
Reuters
By Elaine Lies  6 hours ago



An aerial view shows rescue workers searching for missing people near mountain lodge with heavily damaged roof top in the erupted Mount Ontake, central Japan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Japanese soldiers managed to bring down eight more bodies by helicopter from the ash-blanketed peak of a still-erupting volcano on Monday, before toxic gases and ash forced them to suspend the recovery effort in the early afternoon. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)



TOKYO (Reuters) - At least 36 people are feared to have died after a Japanese volcano erupted without warning at the weekend, raining ash and stones on hikers, but the search for victims was abandoned on Monday because of fears of toxic gases.

Rescuers at the peak of Mount Ontake, now an eerie moonscape under a thick layer of grey ash, on Monday found five more victims of Saturday's eruption at Japan's second-highest active volcano but authorities did not immediately confirm them as dead.

The eruption of the 3,067-metre (10,062-foot) peak, 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, took place as the hiking site was packed with climbers, including children, admiring autumn foliage under a brilliant blue sky.

Twelve people have been confirmed dead in Japan's first fatal volcanic eruption since 1991, and 63 have been injured, some with broken bones. Eight were missing, but officials said some of them could possibly be among those who perished.

"It's my son, my second son. We've had absolutely no contact at all," a grey-haired man told Japanese television, adding that his 26-year-old son had gone to the mountain with his girlfriend. "We're utterly exhausted."

More than 500 rescuers had been combing the summit, ploughing through knee-deep ash and passing mountain lodges with holes punched in their roofs by rocks shot out of the volcano.

Helicopters lifted laden stretchers one by one from the summit on Monday, before rescue efforts were abandoned. As on Sunday, the smell of sulphur strengthened at the peak, fanning fears of toxic fumes and forcing rescuers off the mountain.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations. In 1991, 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in the southwest.

Ontake, Japan's second-highest active volcano, last had a minor eruption seven years ago. Its last major eruption, the first on record, was in 1979.

Hikers said there was no warning of Saturday's eruption just before noon and hundreds were trapped for hours before descent became possible later in the day.

"I felt a hot wind blast against my back and crouched down to the ground," a man told NTV. "I was sure I was going to die."

It was natural that Japan's Meteorological Agency, which monitors volcanic activity, might reconsider its surveillance system, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

"However, I believe that, given current levels of knowledge, they made the only judgment they could," he told a news conference.

Suga also said the eruption would have no impact on the restart of the Sendai nuclear plant in southwestern Japan, an area of active volcanic sites. The plant was just cleared to restart in early September.

Experts said it was hard to have predicted the eruption, despite tremors in the area this month, since there were no other changes in the mountain.

Also, the eruption appears to have resulted from a steam-driven explosion of a kind that is especially hard to forecast, said Toshitsugu Fujii, a volcano expert.

"They often occur quite suddenly and there is absolutely no guarantee that the earthquakes earlier this month were connected," he told a news conference on Sunday. "There is no guarantee of total safety when you're dealing with nature."

(Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Robert Birsel)


http://news.yahoo.com/japan-resumes-search-victims-volcanic-eruption-023736039.html

[Buster's Uncle]

5 more bodies found at Japan volcano; toll now 36
Associated Press
By EMILY WANG  2 hours ago






KISO, Japan (AP) — Toxic gases and ash from still-erupting Mount Ontake forced Japanese rescue workers to call off the search for more victims Monday as dozens of relatives awaited news of their family members.

Rescuers found five more bodies near the summit of the volcano, bringing the death toll to 36. They have managed to airlift only 12 bodies off the mountain since the start of the eruption on Saturday because of dangerous conditions.

How the victims died remains unclear, though experts say it was probably from suffocating ash, falling rocks, toxic gases or some combination of them. Some of the bodies had severe contusions.

Survivors told Japanese media that they were pelted by rocks from the eruption. One man said he fled with others to the basement of a lodge, fearing that the rocks would penetrate the roof.

Yuji Tsuno, a veteran mountain photographer, was near the summit. After taking pictures of the initial explosion as ash and debris rained down, he quickly took refuge in a nearby hut, he told the TBS TV network.

About 20 minutes later, when the smoke partially subsided, he rushed out and began his descent. It was a gamble, but he believed it was his only chance, he said.

"I almost thought it was the end of my life," he said in the interview.

On his way down, he spotted a man heading up. "I told him to go down with me, but he said he had to check on his child up there. I couldn't stop him," Tsuno said.

The eruption caught seismologists by surprise. Although somewhat increased seismic activity had been recorded for about two weeks, there were no indications of a major eruption, said Satoshi Deguchi, a Japan Meteorological Agency official in Nagano prefecture. Typical signs, such as increased seismic rattling or underground structural movement, were not detected.

Japanese TV showed soldiers carrying a series of body bags on Monday morning to a military helicopter that had landed in a relatively wide-open area of the now bleak landscape, its rotors still spinning.

The bodies were flown to a nearby athletic field and then taken to a small wooden elementary school in the nearby town of Kiso, where they were being examined in the gymnasium.

Family members of the missing waited at a nearby municipal hall.

More than 200 soldiers and firefighters, including units with gas detection equipment, were part of the search mission near the peak, said Katsunori Morimoto, an official in the village of Otaki.

The effort was halted because of an increase in toxic gas and ash as the volcano continued to spew fumes, he said, adding that the rescuers reported a strong smell of sulfur.

The eruption was the first fatal one in modern times at the 3,067-meter (10,062-foot) mountain, a popular climbing destination 210 kilometers (130 miles) west of Tokyo. An eruption occurred in 1979, but no one died.

The mountain began erupting at perhaps the worst possible time, with at least 250 people taking advantage of a beautiful fall Saturday to go for a hike. The blast spewed large white plumes of gas and ash high into the sky, blotted out the midday sun and blanketed the surrounding area in ash.

Hundreds were initially trapped on the slopes, though most made their way down by Saturday night.

About 40 people who were stranded overnight came down on Sunday. Many were injured, and some had to be rescued by helicopters or carried down on stretchers.

Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 59 people had been injured, including 27 seriously. It was trying to determine if any people were still missing.
___
Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi and Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/recovery-bodies-called-off-japanese-volcano-062303013.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Additional people found with cardiopulmonary arrest on Japan volcano: Kyodo
Reuters
19 hours ago



TOKYO (Reuters) - Rescuers have found additional people with cardiopulmonary arrest at the summit of the Japanese volcano that erupted at the weekend, Kyodo news agency said on Monday, but could not immediately confirm their deaths.

Four people have been declared dead after Saturday's sudden eruption rained smoke and ash on climbers on Mount Ontake and at least 27 were presumed dead prior to Monday in Japan's first fatal volcanic eruption since 1991.

Japan relies on medical examinations for a formal confirmation of death.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Chris Gallagher)


http://news.yahoo.com/additional-people-found-cardiopulmonary-arrest-japan-volcano-kyodo-053203149.html