Four hikers were confirmed dead Sunday and another 27 were presumed to have perished after their lifeless bodies were found on Japan's volcanic Mt. Ontake, which erupted Saturday morning without warning.
At least 30 more people were injured, and a search and rescue crew including helicopters and about 300 people was dispatched to the mountain 180 miles west of Tokyo.
Naofumi Miyagi, spokesman with the Nagano Prefecture police, said all 31 victims found lifeless showed signs of cardiopulmonary arrest; autopsies were conducted on four hikers who were brought down from the mountain Sunday afternoon. Police refused to answer further questions on the possible causes of death.
Rescue workers have been scaling the 10,000-foot peak via hiking trails, and it was unclear how many trips it may take to bring down the other 27 victims, said an official at the crisis management and disaster prevention division in Nagano, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to make comments.
Kiyomi Ando, a press officer for Kiso Town in Nagano, said 151 hikers were able to escape. Of those, about 40 descended from the area near the top of the mountain and another 120 people made it down after sheltering in a large cabin.
Of the 30 injured, one person was in critical condition and 29 had moderate to light injuries, according to Nagano authorities.
Further searches are planned for Monday, Ando said.
Mt. Ontake rumbled to life at 11:52 a.m. Saturday, spewing huge plumes of ash into the sky and blanketing its slopes. As one of the highest volcanoes in Japan, the mountain is a popular hiking destination, particularly for fall foliage. It is a relatively short three-hour hike to the top after a ride up a ropeway. "Beginners can do the hike," Ando said.
Amateur video uploaded by hikers on the mountain showed a huge cloud of noxious ash suddenly pouring forth from the top of the peak.
Mt. Ontake had a minor eruption in 2007, but that caused no fatalities. A more major eruption occurred in 1979.
Toshihiko Sawada, an advisor to the ropeway, said it was ideal weather for hiking Saturday with clear skies. "We had more than the usual number of tourists and hikers," he said.
Sawada said 660 people used the ropeway services on Saturday morning before the eruption occurred and ropeway operations have been halted since due to safety concerns.
Some tourists climb to the top from the ropeway stop while others just walk around the top of the ropeway station area and then come down, Ando said.
"We are still seeing ashes falling" and columns of smoke plumes were still spewing out, Sawada said.
"There was no warning of a volcanic eruption," added Sawada. In the wake of the explosion, authorities have raised the alert level from 1, or "normal," to 3, meaning "restricted access."
Two types of toxic fumes - hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide - have been detected in the summit area, said Tomoyuki Kanno of the earthquake and volcano department at the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Kanno said Mt. Otake had a phreatic eruption, which happens when underground water is heated by magma and then hits a boiling point, at which point the mountain explodes.
"It's often the case, there's no warning signs with those types of eruptions," Kanno said.
Nagano is a special correspondent.
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