More than 30 hikers have reportedly been found in a state of cardiac and respiratory arrest after an awful volcano erupted, emitting ash and rock particles that poured down for nearly three kilometres. These hikers were close to the peak of the volcano, on Mount Ontake, when it erupted, engulfing the surroundings with smoke.
This volcano erupted at around 11: 53 am (Japan Standard Time)
Reuters quoted a woman who told the Public Broadcasters NHK that it was like 
a thunder and she heard boom, boom, before everything went dark. These hikers, according to what CNN reported, were found without a pulse and weren’t breathing, though they haven’t been declared ‘dead’ by doctors treating on them.
Other hikers, climbing the mountain, rushed down and took refugees in nearby huts. They reported horrifying things of stones pouring down and smoke engulfing the atmosphere. Emergency helicopters were sent for the rescue purpose, and were successful in saving lives of seven.
No sooner did the news emerge, than police officials rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations. Fire fighters and self-defence personnel’s assisted the police officials in rescue tasks. Japanese media reported the death of a lady while 40 others were injured in this incident.
Police set up helplines to secure information about the climbers as exact figures of the climbers was not known. NHK quoted a Cabinet officer saying that as of Saturday evening, about 230 people made their way home safely.
This volcano affected the air route as well with domestic flights getting delayed, foreign flights however remained unaffected.
Reuters reported that according to police, more than 250 hikers at one stage had been stranded on the mountain, which is 3,067 meters (10,062 feet) high and last erupted in 2007. No nuclear power plants are located nearby.
Tags: Japan Japan volcano Mount Ontake
