A Japanese
soldier was killed Tuesday and several other people injured after a volcano
erupted near a popular ski resort, sparking an avalanche and leaving scores
stranded —
including tourists from Britain and Taiwan.
Footage
broadcast on Japanese television showed thick black smoke interspersed with
falling rocks rolling down the snow-covered side of the volcano towards a ski
slope.
Defence
Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters that one of eight members of the Self
Defence Forces who had been on a training mission on Mt. Kusatsu Shirane,
northwest of Tokyo, had died after being hit by volcanic rocks.
“His lungs
were damaged” because of the impact of the rocks, Onodera said, adding that the
other seven soldiers had sustained injuries.
The defence
ministry had initially said a total of six infantry troops were caught up in
the incident.
“Black smoke
rose from the top of the mountain and we were told to evacuate inside 30
minutes later,” a man who was at the ski resort told public broadcaster NHK.
Around 80
people were stranded for hours at a gondola station at the top of the mountain
after a power outage.
Television
footage showed military helicopters buzzing overhead as people were airlifted
to safety.
Yuko Iguchi,
an official from nearby Kusatsu town, told AFP: “All the people stranded at the
summit were brought down to the safe zone. We have not received any injured
people among them.”
Another
local official, Yoichi Takai, told AFP that “15 people from Taiwan and four
from Britain were among those who were stranded at the peak.”
One woman
who was trapped at the gondola station but later rescued told Japanese TV:
“There was an eruption in front of my eyes. Black and white plumes came towards
me. Then the ski slope went completely black.”
The area had
seen heavy snowfall in the hours leading up to the eruption, making the slopes
ripe for avalanches.
A
snowboarder told NHK his gondola had stopped suddenly and he saw that other
gondolas around him had broken windows and were covered in ash.
“I realised
it was an eruption. Forty to 50 minutes later, all the gondolas moved up to the
station on the top of the mountain,” he said.
– Ring of
fire –
Japan’s
Meteorological Agency urged people to stay away after it detected what it said
was “slight volcanic activity.”
Agency
official Makoto Saito told reporters the volcano could still spew more rocks
and ash, and that there was a risk of further avalanches.
A local fire
department official told AFP that 10 people had been hurt in the incident.
“Five of
them were seriously injured. We began sending the injured to a hospital,” he
said.
Among the
injured were four people hurt by shattered glass while on a ropeway gondola at
the ski resort.
The official
said an earlier report that one person was missing in the avalanche was not
accurate.
Japan, with
scores of 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.
On September
27, 2014, Japan suffered its deadliest eruption in almost 90 years when Mt
Ontake, in central Nagano prefecture, burst unexpectedly to life.
An estimated
63 people were killed in the shock eruption, which occurred as the peak was
packed with hikers out to see the region’s spectacular autumn colours.
According to
the Meteorological Agency, this was the first time Mt. Kusatsu Shirane has
erupted since 1983.
There are
currently 111 active volcanoes in Japan, according to agency officials.
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