Volcanic eruption, avalanche kill 1 in Japan
A Volcanic eruption and an ensuing avalanche near a popular ski resort in Japan have killed a Japanese soldier and left scores stranded up a mountain, local authorities say.
Members of the Self Defense Forces had been training in an area on Mount Kusatsu Shirane, located northwest of Tokyo, when it erupted, sending black smoke into the air and rocks down the snow-covered side of the mountain toward a ski resort.
Six infantry personnel had been on a training mission on the mountain when the avalanche struck. The Japanese Defense Ministry earlier said they had been rescued.
“One of the six members of the Self Defense Forces [wounded in the incident] has died after being caught up in an avalanche,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said later on Tuesday.
“About 100 people have evacuated,” he added.
Moreover, Japan’s Meteorological Agency called on residents in the immediate vicinity to stay away from Mount Kusatsu Shirane after it detected what it referred to as “slight volcanic activity.”
Meanwhile, a local town official announced that a total of 78 people, some of whom inflicted with injuries, were stranded at a gondola station at the top of the mountain.
“We’re now discussing how we can evacuate them,” added the official. However, NHK reported that eight of those stranded had already been rescued.
Japan, with numerous active volcanoes, sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where a large proportion of the world’s quakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.
Japan suffered its deadliest eruption in almost 90 years on September 27, 2014, when Mount Ontake in central Nagano Prefecture burst into life unpredictably, killing nearly 65 people while the peak was packed with hikers.
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