Many, according to one man who had been working on a lodge near the volcano’s peak, were buried alive by a firestorm of white-hot rocks, stones, and choking, blinding ash. Meanwhile, other survivors recounted harrowing stories of listening to victims dying just yards from them. ![]() The hikers sheltering in the cabin were able to descend after a few hours. On the ground was the chilling evidence of panic in the face of nature’s onslaught – abandoned backpacks, two expensive cameras, and a single shoe. They had to abandon the mission when the volcano spewed more gas and rocks, with rescuers deciding that even their ‘armour’ of bullet-proof vests, hard helmets, goggles and masks would not be enough to protect them.Ĭalling off the mission came after rescuers advanced painstakingly up the volcano, which is located 125 miles west of Tokyo.Īmid the overpowering stench of sulphur, they searched for signs of life in lodges that had holes punched in their roofs by rocks falling hundreds of feet. And rescuers fear they have yet to find the remains of many more who were smothered by rolling clouds of gases, cut down by rocks that struck with the force of bullets or choked by toxic fumes.įresh eruptions from the 10,000ft volcano earlier this week forced soldiers, police and emergency teams to abandon their hunt for survivors and flee for cover for the first time. The petrified hikers, who can be seen huddling in their partially submerged sanctuary, were lucky to escape with their lives after Mount Ontake erupted suddenly on Saturday, raining furnace-hot ash and stones on hundreds of weekend visitors.Īt least 36 people are known to have died – some buried alive. ![]() Yesterday a group of terrified hikers were forced to seek shelter in a small cabin after a Japanese volcano erupted without warning, resulting in the death of at least 36 people. 'Hopefully, everybody can use this as an opportunity to rethink things.' 'I don't think the network is adequate and there aren't enough people,' he said. Hasegawa, at the Japan Meterological Agency, said he was not aware of budget changes and technology now allows real-time observations from afar. 'Maintenance of monitoring devices has been delayed, and the equipment is getting old,' Yasuo Ogawa, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology's Volcanic Fluid Research Centre, told Reuters. Over the last 10 years, volcano research in government institutions has received an average 1.4 billion yen annually, compared to 7.6 billion yen for earthquake studies, Education Ministry data shows. Japan monitors 47 of its 110 active volcanoes around the clock, but the research budget has always been less than for earthquakes and critics say the equipment is insufficient. Researchers say predicting a steam-driven explosion is especially difficult - and even harder with limited information about a peak's past volcanic activity. Ontake, Japan's second-highest active volcano, last had a minor eruption seven years ago. In 1991, 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen In 1991, 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in the southwest.įear: Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations. Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations. They may include 11-year-old Akari Nagayama, who reached the summit earlier than the rest of a group that included her mother. Most of the victims appear to have been found near a shrine at the narrow, rocky top of the peak, Japanese media said. They may have been struck by rocks or inhaled ash,' he told NTV. 'It is hard to know how the victims died. ![]() The weekend explosion may have propelled rocks so violently they could have reached the speed of an airplane, said Kazuaki Ito, a volcanologist who surveyed Ontake after it erupted in 1979, its first eruption in recorded history. 'This points to possibly increasing pressure due to steam inside the volcano, and if it exploded rocks could be thrown around, endangering rescuers,' he added. Various Japanese firefighters helped comb the area near the summit of Mount Ontake as plumes of volcanic gases and ash rose
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