Japan death toll up as 11 more bodies found
What you need to know:
- The grim news of more deaths came after media reports earlier suggested as many as 20 people remained unaccounted for, with an area of the volcano still spewing steam and gas.
- “We believe there are more people still missing, but we don’t know how many they are,” he added.
TOKYO, Wednesday
The death toll from a sudden volcanic eruption in Japan hit 47 Wednesday as rescuers discovered 11 new bodies in so-far unexplored areas of the ash-covered peak.
The figure makes the eruption of Mount Ontake, which was packed with hikers when it burst angrily to life on Saturday lunchtime, the worst volcanic disaster in Japan for almost 90 years.
Up until Sunday 36 bodies had been found, but many of these remained on the ruptured mountain as toxic gas and the risk of further eruptions forced emergency workers to suspend operations.
The region’s police earlier said 12 new bodies were found on Wednesday but they later corrected the figure to 11. “Police mistook the number as they were confused in the process of transporting the bodies,” an official at Nagano prefecture’s crisis management office said.
The grim news of more deaths came after media reports earlier suggested as many as 20 people remained unaccounted for, with an area of the volcano still spewing steam and gas.
Some of the around 1,000 troops, police and firefighters combing the volcano succeeded Wednesday in bringing down 14 more of the bodies that were discovered on Sunday.
An official at the crisis management office said helicopters had brought the dead from the mountain, whose pockmarked lunarscape bears witness to the huge volume of ash and rocks flung from the volcano.
MORE PEOPLE MISSING
“We believe there are more people still missing, but we don’t know how many they are,” he added.
Broadcaster NHK said earlier in the day rescuers had seen more bodies that they had not yet been able to access.
Hiking is a hugely popular pastime in Japan, with mountain trails promoted by tourism officials who ask walkers to sign in when they begin their trek and sign out again when they finish.
But a local tourism association told the Asahi Shimbun that usually only 10 to 20 percent of hikers register before entering the mountains in high season.
The report said 327 hikers had registered their presence on Mount Ontake at the time of the eruption.
Rescuers are hoping that many of those who cannot be contacted simply forgot to let mountain managers know they were safe.
Nagano prefecture has posted a notice on its website calling for information on hikers on the list. (AFP)
However, there exists the grim possibility that many more perished.
