30 people found 'lifeless' on Mount Ontake

Mount Ontake, Japan (CNN) -- Rescuers found more than 30 people showing no signs of life Sunday near the summit of a Japanese volcano that started erupting a day earlier.

Police said the people were in a state of "cardiac arrest," meaning that they were discovered without a pulse and weren't breathing but hadn't been declared dead by a doctor.

Rescue teams had begun searching Sunday for dozens of climbers who were caught by the sudden eruption of Mount Ontake.

 

Volcanic ash envelopes hikers

The volcano in central Japan unleashed a huge cloud of ash late Saturday morning that billowed down the mountainside and engulfed hikers in its path. Witnesses described hearing a sound like thunder when the eruption began.

The exact number of people unaccounted for was unclear, as officials were uncertain how many had already made it off the mountain.

Authorities estimated there were 200 to 250 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption. Most of them were reported to have managed to make the long trek down the mountain.

But some people remained trapped in several cottages on Mount Ontake, and others were missing altogether, local authorities said.

More than 350 rescue workers -- a mix of police, firefighters and military personnel -- began climbing two separate routes up the mountain on Sunday morning, authorities in the nearby village of Otaki said.

Mount Ontake erupts

Alert level raised

Photos: Recently active volcanoes

Aside from those in cardiac arrest, more than 25 people were reported to have been injured, 10 of them seriously, according to the government of Nagano prefecture, where the volcano is situated. Helicopters ferried some injured people off the mountainside.

Among the climbers trapped in the cottages, at least 11 were injured, officials in Otaki said. They said they had observed 17-20 inches (40-50 centimeters) of volcanic ash covering the ground in some areas.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has raised the Volcanic Alert Level for Ontake from 1 to 3. That means the public is advised to not approach the volcano, the summit of which is at an altitude of 10,060 feet (3,067 meters).

The agency warned that another large eruption could take place in the next six days or so. Small continuous eruptions continued Sunday.

The volcano's plume of smoke and ash was reported to have disrupted air travel in Japan, causing delays at several airports.

Mount Ontake, the second tallest volcano in Japan, after Mount Fuji, is a popular destination for hikers, especially in the fall when trees' rich autumn colors are on display.

About 250 people living near the mountain have decided to remain in their homes, police said.

The last major eruption of Mount Ontake, which is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Tokyo, took place in 1979, according to the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian Institute.

That eruption lasted months, spewing out more than 200,000 tons of ash, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

Smaller scale activity was reported in 1984, 1991 and 2007.

有沒有生命跡象發現有30人在日本爆發的火山
由葉忒羅馬倫和威爾里普利，美國有線電視新聞網
2014年9月28日 - 更新0836 GMT（1636 HKT）
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30人認為“毫無生氣”山禦岳
新聞提要
新：至少有30人被發現在山中的國家“心跳停止”，警方說，
新：地震學家警告說，再大的噴發可能發生在未來的日子裡
救援人員正在尋找誰是被困登山者或失踪，當局說，
山禦岳開始爆發週六，發動了火山灰雲席捲遠足
山禦岳，日本（CNN） -救援人員發現了30餘人呈現出生活週日接近日本火山噴發開始前一天的峰會跡象。
警方說，人在處於“心臟驟停”，這意味著他們被發現沒有脈搏，沒有呼吸，但並沒有被宣告死亡了醫生。
救援隊已經開始尋找星期天數十名登山誰被抓到山禦岳的突然爆發。
火山灰信封踏青
在日本中部的火山週六晚凌晨發動了一場巨大的火山灰雲的直衝到了山坡上，並在其路徑吞沒遠足。目擊者形容聽到聲音如雷時開始萌出。
下落不明的人的確切人數目前還不清楚，因為官員們不能確定有多少已經使得關山。
當局估計有200至250行山人士在火山噴發時的面積。他們中的大多數據報導，有管理，使長途跋涉下山。
但有些人仍然被困在山禦岳幾個小屋，和其他人一起丟失，地方當局說。
350多名救援人員 - 警察，消防隊員和軍人的混合 - 開始在星期天早上爬兩個獨立的路線上山，在瀧附近的村莊當局說。
山禦岳噴發 山禦岳噴發
警戒級別提高
照片：近期活躍的火山 照片：近期活躍的火山
除了那些在心臟驟停，據報超過25人受傷，10人傷勢嚴重，據長野縣政府，那裡的火山坐落。直升機擺渡一些受傷的人了山腰。
在被困在小屋的登山者，至少有11人受傷，在瀧官員說。他們說，他們觀察到17-20英寸的火山灰（40-50厘米），覆蓋地面，部分地區。
日本氣象廳已經提出的火山警戒級別的禦岳從1到3這意味著，建議市民不要靠近火山，該峰會是在10060英尺（3067米）的高空。
該機構警告說，另一大噴發可能發生在未來六個月天左右。小連續噴發持續星期天。
濃煙和火山灰的火山羽狀據報導，打亂了日本的航空旅行，造成延誤的幾個機場。
山禦岳，第二高的火山，在日本，富士山後，是徒步旅行者的熱門目的地，尤其是在秋天，當樹“豐富的秋色正在展出。
大約有250人居住在山區已經決定留在自己的家園，警方說。
山禦岳，大約是125英里（200公里），西東京，最後大噴發發生在1979年，根據全球火山計劃在史密森學會。
那噴發持續了幾個月，噴湧而出超過20萬噸粉煤灰，日本通訊社共同社的報導。
規模較小的活動的報告，1984年，1991年和2007年。