At least 31 believed dead at Japanese volcano

[Buster's Uncle]

At least 31 believed dead at Japanese volcano
Associated Press
By MARI YAMAGUCHI  15 minutes ago



A volcano erupted in central Japan on Saturday, sending a large plume of ash high into the sky and prompting a warning to climbers and others to avoid the area. (Sept. 27)



TOKYO (AP) — Finally reaching the ash-covered summit of a still-erupting volcano in central Japan, rescue workers made a grim discovery Sunday: 31 apparently dead people, some reportedly buried in knee-deep ash.

Four bodies were brought down and confirmed dead Sunday afternoon, one day after Mount Ontake's big initial eruption, said Takehiko Furukoshi, a Nagano prefecture crisis management official. The other 27 were listed as having heart and lung failure, the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police doctors can examine it.

Officials provided no details on how they may have died. Japanese media reported that some of the bodies were found in a mountain lodge near the summit, and that others were buried in ash up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) deep.

Most of the 31 people were found near the mountain's summit, where there was a lot of ash fall, said a Kiso city fire department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Police said only two of the four dead had been identified so far. Both were men, ages 23 and 45.

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. 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.



A military helicopter, aiding in rescue operations, flies above Mount Ontake as it continues to erupt, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014, in Nagano prefecture. Military helicopters plucked several people from the Japanese mountainside Sunday after a spectacular volcanic eruption sent officials scrambling to reach many more injured and stranded on the mountain. Mount Ontake erupted shortly before noon Saturday, catching mountain climbers by surprise and injuring at least 34, including 12 seriously, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The tally was lower than reported by local officials earlier, but the disaster agency warned that the numbers could still change. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)


An estimated 40 people, possibly more, who were stranded on the mountain overnight came down on Sunday. Many were injured, and some had to be rescued by helicopters or carried down on stretchers. By nightfall, all the injured had been brought down, officials said.

Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency tallied 37 injured people, and said it was trying to update the number still missing.

Furukoshi said rescuers gave priority to helping the survivors come down, leaving behind those who were obviously without hope.

Survivors told Japanese media that they were pelted by rocks. One woman said she covered her head with a knapsack, and later found a thermos inside had been flattened.

A man said he and others went into the basement of a lodge, fearing that the rocks would penetrate the roof. He covered himself with a futon, a thin Japanese mattress, for protection.



Plumes of smoke and ash billow from Mount Ontake as it continues to erupt in Otaki village, in Nagano prefecture, Japan, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. A Japanese military helicopter rescued three people Sunday morning from the spectacular volcanic eruption that sent officials scrambling to reach many more injured and stranded on the mountain. Mount Ontake in central Japan erupted shortly before noon Saturday, catching mountain climbers by surprise and injuring at least 34, including 12 seriously, according to Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The tally was lower than reported by local officials earlier, but the disaster agency warned that the numbers could still change. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)


Mount Ontake erupted at perhaps the worst possible time, with at least 250 people taking advantage of a beautiful fall Saturday to go for a hike.

"Even small eruptions can cause major damage if people are around, as they get hit by rocks that come flying," Nagoya University volcanologist Koshun Yamaoka said at a news conference Sunday. "And the problem is that catching signs of such small eruptions is difficult."

Military helicopters plucked seven people off the mountainside earlier Sunday in three helicopter trips, said Defense Ministry official Toshihiko Muraki. All were conscious and could walk, though details of their conditions were unclear, he said.

Japanese television footage showed a soldier descending from a large camouflage-colored helicopter, helping latch on a man and then the two of them being pulled up. The helicopters hovered over ash-covered mountain lodges and vast landscapes that looked a barren gray, like the moon's surface.

At least one woman was carried down on a stretcher, and a man with a broken arm walked down.



Map locates Mount Ontake, Japan.; 1c x 3 inches; 46.5 mm x 76 mm;


The Self-Defense Force, as Japan's military is called, deployed seven helicopters and 250 troops. Police and fire departments also joined the rescue effort.

A large plume, a mixture of white and gray, continued to rise from the ash-covered summit of 3,067-meter (10,062-foot) Mount Ontake on Sunday, visible from the nearby village of Otaki.

Shinichi Shimohara, who works at a shrine at the foot of the mountain, said he was on his way up 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."

Mount Ontake, about 210 kilometers (130 miles) west of Tokyo, sits on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures, on the main Japanese island of Honshu. No one was killed in the volcano's last relatively large eruption, in 1979.
___

Associated Press videojournalist Emily Wang in Otaki, Japan, and writer Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/7-rescued-32-missing-volcano-erupts-japan-050922689.html

[Buster's Uncle]

At least 31 feared dead near peak of Japanese volcano
Reuters
By Elaine Lies  1 hour ago



Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) soldiers and firefighters carry an injured person near a crater of Mt. Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures in this September 28, 2014 photo taken and released by Kyodo. More than 500 Japanese military and police set out on Sunday to search the peak 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. Mandatory credit. REUTERS/Kyodo



TOKYO (Reuters) - Thirty-one people were presumed dead on Sunday near the peak of a Japanese volcano that erupted a day earlier, catching hundreds of hikers unawares as it belched out clouds of rock and ash.

The deaths on Mount Ontake, 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, were the first from a Japanese volcanic eruption since 1991.

Police said the 31 were found in "cardio-pulmonary arrest", but declined to confirm their deaths pending a formal examination, as per Japanese custom. Public broadcaster NHK and the Kyodo news agency later reported that four, all male, had been confirmed dead.

An official in the area said rescue efforts had been called off due to rising levels of toxic gas near the peak, as well as approaching nightfall.

Hundreds of people, including children, were stranded on the mountain, a popular hiking site, after it erupted without warning on Saturday, sending ash pouring down the slope for more than 3 km (2 miles.)



Volcanic smoke rises from Mt. Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, central Japan, in this September 28, 2014 photo taken and released by Kyodo. More than 30 people were feared dead on Sunday near the peak of the Japanese volcano that erupted a day earlier, sending a huge cloud of ash and rock tumbling down its slopes, while packed with hikers. Mandatory credit. (REUTERS/Kyodo)


Most made their way down later on Saturday but about 40 spent the night near the 3,067 meter (10,062 feet) peak. Some wrapped themselves in blankets and huddled in the basement of buildings.

"The roof on the mountain lodge was destroyed by falling rock, so we had to take refuge below the building," one told NHK national television. "That's how bad it was."

More than 40 people were injured, several with broken bones.

Earlier, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency had said authorities were trying to confirm the whereabouts of 45 people.

It was not clear whether those 45 included the 31 people found in cardio-pulmonary arrest.



On Saturday, Japan's Mount Ontake volcano erupted without warning, spraying ash and rock more than three kilometers down the side of the mountain.


The volcano was still erupting on Sunday, pouring smoke and ash hundreds of meters into the sky. Ash was found on cars as far as 80 km (50 miles) away.

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 the southwest of the country.

Ontake, Japan's second-highest volcano, last erupted seven years ago. Its last major eruption was in 1979.

Satoshi Saito, a 52-year-old hiker who climbed Ontake on Saturday and descended less than an hour before the eruption, said the weather was good and the mountain, known for its autumn foliage, was crowded with people carrying cameras.

"There were no earthquakes or strange smells on the mountain when I was there," Saito, who usually climbs Ontake several times a year, told Reuters. He also said there were no warnings of possible eruptions posted on the trail.



Over 30 people are feared dead as Japan's Self Defense Force helicopters and troops rescue people after Mount Ontake eruption


"But a man who runs a hotel near the mountain told me that the number of small earthquakes had risen these past two months, and everyone thought it was weird," Saito said.

ENVELOPING BLACKNESS

Video footage on the Internet showed huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people scrambling to descend as blackness enveloped them. NHK footage showed windows in a mountain lodge darkening and people screaming as heavy objects pelted the roof.

"All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn't even open the door," Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain lodge just below the peak, told Reuters. The building quickly filled with hikers taking refuge.

"We were really packed in, 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."



Mount Ontake, located in the central part of Japan, left at least one person dead and seven missing when it erupted without warning. Dozens are still stuck as smaller eruptions nearby make it unsafe to descend.


Flights at Tokyo's Haneda airport suffered delays on Saturday as planes changed routes to avoid the volcano, but were mostly back to normal by Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes circling the edges of the Pacific Ocean, and is home to 110 active volcanoes.

One of these, Sakurajima at the southern end of the western island of Kyushu, is 50 km (31 miles) from Kyushu Electric Power's Sendai nuclear plant, which was approved to restart by Japan's nuclear regulator earlier in September.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has said the chance of volcanic activity during the Sendai plant's lifespan is negligible, even though five giant calderas, crater-like depressions formed by past eruptions, are also nearby.

Kyushu Electric has said it will install new monitoring equipment around nearby calderas and develop plans to remove highly radioactive fuel to a safer site if the threat of an eruption is detected.

There are no nuclear plants near Ontake.

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 Sept. 10, 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."

(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Stanley White; Editing by Nick Macfie, Paul Tait and Mark Trevelyan)


http://news.yahoo.com/over-30-found-state-cardiopulmonary-arrest-japan-volcano-061342761.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Rescuers rush to reach dozens trapped on erupting Japan volcano
AFP
12 hours ago



White smoke rises from Mount Ontake as Japan's volcano Ontake erupts in Nagano prefecture in central Japan, leaving dozens trapped, September 27, 2014 (AFP Photo/)



Rescuers rushed Sunday to help dozens of hikers stranded on an erupting volcano in central Japan with six people believed to be buried under ash and dozens injured.

Columns of thick white steam were rising from the 3,067-metre (10,121-foot) Mount Ontake, which erupted around noon on Saturday, spewing ash, rocks and steam on otherwise a sunny autumn weekend busy with tourists and hikers.

Seven people were unconscious and buried under ash, national broadcaster NHK said.

One of them was rescued but the others remained on the mountain, NHK said, adding that a total of 42 people were believed to have suffered injuries.

Local media on Saturday reported that a person died, but firefighters said the death had not been confirmed.

A suffocating blanket of ash up to 20 centimetres (eight inches) deep covered a large area of the volcano, trapping climbers and forcing up to 150 to seek refuge in mountaintop shelters at one point.



Smoke rising from Mount Ontake in Nagano prefecture on September 28, 2014. The volcano's eruption has left dozens of hikers trapped (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)


Local officials believe 45 to 49 hikers sheltered overnight in cabins on the popular mountain, although details remained unclear.

A group of 23 hikers who spent the night in a cabin on Sunday were able to climb down to reach the start of a trail leading to the summit.

A Self Defence Force helicopter rescued a man and a woman near the summit, according to a spokesman at Otaki village, Nagano prefecture.

"The helicopter flew over there very early in the morning to survey the condition. Then it found the two people waving at it," the spokesman told AFP.

"Originally, the rescuers thought it might be difficult to go near them because ashes could rise (and damage the helicopter), but the conditions were better than they believed and they were able to rescue the two people," he said.



This picture shows a smoke rising from Mount Ontake in Nagano prefecture on September 28, 2014. The eruption has left dozens of hikers trapped (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)


The two were able to walk unassisted, but were transported to a hospital for observation, the spokesman added.

Some 230 hikers were able to make it to safe ground on Saturday after the eruption.

Aerial television footage showed a line of rescue workers, wearing orange uniforms or green camouflage, scaling grey, ash-covered trails Sunday.

Among the injured, some were hit by flying rocks or suffered burns after inhaling hot volcanic ash, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The meteorological agency forecast further eruptions, warning that volcanic debris may settle within four kilometres (2.5 miles) of the peak.

The agency also placed restrictions on access to the mountain, while calling on local residents to remain alert as an eruption could shatter windows miles away.

The last significant eruption of Mount Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures in the centre of the country, was in 1979 when it expelled more than 200,000 tonnes of ash, according to local media.

A more moderate eruption was last seen in March 2007.


http://news.yahoo.com/rescuers-rush-reach-dozens-trapped-erupting-japan-volcano-043333898.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Japanese troops head for volcano after eruption leaves missing, at least 40 injured
Reuters
By Elaine Lies  14 hours ago



Climbers descend Mt. Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, to evacuate as volcanic ash falls at the mountain in central Japan September 27, 2014, in this photo taken by a climber and released by Kyodo. REUTERS/Kyodo



TOKYO (Reuters) - More than 500 Japanese military and police set out on Sunday to search the peak 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.

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.

"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 3,067 meters (10,062 feet) Ontake.

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.



Climbers descend Mt. Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, to evacuate as volcanic ash falls at the mountain in central Japan September 27, 2014, in this photo taken by a climber and released by Kyodo. REUTERS/Kyodo


Video footage posted on the Internet showed huge gray 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.

"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 200 km (125 miles) 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 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, 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 Sept. 10, 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."

(Editing by Paul Tait)


http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-troops-head-volcano-eruption-leaves-missing-least-025739162.html

[Buster's Uncle]

More than 30 feared dead on Japan volcano
AFP
By Kazuhiro NOGI  3 hours ago



White smoke rises from Mount Ontake as Japan's volcano Ontake erupts in Nagano prefecture in central Japan, leaving dozens trapped, September 27, 2014 (AFP Photo/)



The first deaths were confirmed Sunday among more than 30 hikers feared killed near the peak of a Japanese volcano that erupted without warning, spewing ash, rocks and steam.

Rescue workers battling rocketing levels of sulphurous gas found 31 people in "cardiac arrest" near the summit of 3,067-metre (10,121-foot) Mount Ontake, which erupted around noon on Saturday, police and local officials said.

The term is usually applied before doctors can certify death. Four of those found were brought down the volcano on Sunday where they were confirmed dead, broadcaster NHK reported.

"According to the police, four people out of the 31 people who had been found in cardiac arrest near the peak were confirmed dead. All of them were men," a station anchorman told viewers.

The news appeared to confirm fears that there was little hope for those still on the volcano.

Rescue efforts were called off mid-afternoon Sunday because the environment was becoming too dangerous for emergency workers, an official at the Nagano prefectural government told AFP.



Rescue workers and soldiers search for survivors among ash covered mountain cottages on Mount Ontake after the volcano erupted (AFP Photo/)


"The rescue team suspended their operation because of the increasing concentration of sulphurous gas in the area," the official said.

Firefighters have separately confirmed a total 30 people with injuries, including one serious case, he said, adding that the number could still change.

Some 550 soldiers, police and firefighters took part in a major operation to reach those stranded on the volcano since it erupted into a sunny autumn sky during a busy weekend for tourists and hikers.

A suffocating blanket of ash up to 20 centimetres (eight inches) deep covered a large area of the volcano, and had forced up to 150 to seek refuge in mountaintop shelters at one point.

Local officials believe 45 to 49 people sheltered overnight in cabins on the mountain, although details remained unclear.



A helicopter from Japan's Self Defence Force lifts a survivor from volcanic ash after Mount Ontake erupted in central Japan, September 28, 2014 (AFP Photo/)


The mountain is popular among walkers, particularly in late September when the turning of the autumn leaves makes for dramatic scenery.

On Sunday columns of thick white steam were still rising from Mount Ontake, feathering out into the clear blue sky.


- Scenes of horror -

Hikers who descended from the volcano reported scenes of horror, with stones raining down and hot ashes filling the air.

Video footage shot inside a cabin, taken shortly after the eruption and shown on NHK, revealed the screams of terrified hikers as rocks thundered against the roof and walls.



This picture shows a smoke rising from Mount Ontake in Nagano prefecture on September 28, 2014. The eruption has left dozens of hikers trapped (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)


Grey, ash-filled air could be seen rolling against the window, thickening into darkness and leaving just the soundtrack of debris pounding on the structure.

A group of 25 hikers -- including a schoolchild -- who spent the night in a shelter, were able to climb down Sunday to reach the start of one a trail.

A middle-aged man who was among the group said they had been near the summit.

"People panicked," he told NHK, his face smudged with ashes. "Honestly, I am glad I was able to come back alive."

Emergency helicopters rescued seven people, including two who were able to wave at a Self Defence Force helicopter.



Japan's meteorological agency has restricted access to Mount Ontake as smoke and ash continues to spew from it (AFP Photo/)


"Originally, the rescuers thought it might be difficult to go near them because ash could rise (and damage the helicopter), but the conditions were better than they believed and they were able to rescue the two people," a local official told AFP.

Some 230 hikers were able to make it to safety soon after the eruption.

Television footage showed a line of rescue workers in orange uniforms or green camouflage walking through what looked like a moonscape.

Among the injuries were those caused by flying rocks and internal burns from inhaling volcanic fumes, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The meteorological agency forecast further eruptions, warning that volcanic debris may settle within four kilometres (2.5 miles) of the peak.

The agency also restricted access to the mountain, while calling on local residents to remain alert since an eruption could shatter windows miles away.

The last significant eruption of Mount Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures in the centre of the country, was in 1979 when it expelled more than 200,000 tonnes of ash, according to local media.

There were more moderate eruptions in March 2007 and in May 1991.

Japan, which sits at the junction of several of the Earth's tectonic plates, is dotted with active volcanoes.


http://news.yahoo.com/more-30-feared-dead-japan-volcano-133400427.html

[Buster's Uncle]

More than 30 feared dead as Japan volcano search resumes
AFP
21 minutes ago



This aerial picture taken on September 28, 2014 shows a helicopter of Japan's Self Defence Force lifting a survivor from the volcanic ash covered top of Mount Ontake, one day after it erupted (AFP Photo/)



Firefighters, police and troops resumed search operations on a volcano in central Japan Monday after four confirmed fatalities with at least 27 other people feared dead.

More than 500 rescuers returned to Mount Ontake after the search had been called off on Sunday afternoon due to dangerous levels of poisonous gas.

"It depends on the (volcanic) situation how far they can go," a crisis-management official at the Nagano prefectural government said.

Smoke was still rising from the peak early Monday, but helicopters had begun an aerial search of the volcano, which is popular with hikers.

At least 31 people were found lying near the summit of 3,067-metre (10,121-foot) volcano, which erupted Saturday without warning, spewing ash, rocks and steam.

Four of the 31 were brought down and later confirmed dead. They were all men, aged 23-61.

Rescue workers were trying to air lift the remaining 27 people still on the volcano and in "cardiac arrest", a term usually applied before doctors can certify death.

Firefighters have separately confirmed more than 30 people were injured by flying rocks and inhaling poisonous fumes.

The meteorological agency forecast further eruptions, warning that volcanic debris may settle within four kilometres (2.5 miles) of the peak.

A suffocating blanket of ash up to 20 centimetres (eight inches) deep covered a large area of the volcano, and had forced up to 150 to seek refuge in mountaintop shelters at one point.

The mountain is popular with hikers, particularly in late September when the turning of the autumn leaves makes for dramatic scenery.


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