Mount Ontake erupts injuring at least 8 people and stranding hundreds

posted in: Gifu, Nagano, Nature | 0
Dense fumes are spewed out from several spots on the slope of Mt. Ontake as the volcano erupts in central Japan, Sept. 27, 2014.
Dense fumes are spewed out from several spots on the slope of Mt. Ontake as the volcano erupts in central Japan, Sept. 27, 2014.

UPDATE (via NHK) – 8:39 pm – Tokyo time – 9/27/14

One of the highest volcanoes in Japan has erupted.

Mount Ontake erupted shortly before noon on Saturday.

Police say 6 people were injured. Two of them have fractured bones. One, a woman in her 40s, suffered serious injuries to her legs after she was hit by flying rocks.

Three others are missing and are believed buried under volcanic ash. A 4th person who was buried under ash was later rescued but remains unconscious.

About 80 police are searching for other people who may still be on the mountain and may be injured.

Mount Ontake is located between Nagano and Gifu prefectures. It lasted erupted 7 years ago.

Previously reported

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese volcano erupted on Saturday, injuring at least eight people, leaving more than 250 people stranded near the peak and forcing aircraft to divert their routes, officials and media said.

A thick, grey cloud of ash rose into the sky above Mount Ontake and a witness said small rocks were being hurled into the air along with the ash. The number of injured was expected to rise, an official said.

“It was like thunder,” a woman told broadcaster NHK. “I heard boom, boom, then everything went dark.”

The Meteorological Agency said the volcano, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, erupted just before midday and sent ash down the mountain’s south slope for more than three km (2 miles). There was no sign of lava from the TV footage.

“Seven people were lightly injured and one person suffered serious injuries as a result of the eruption,” Makoto Hasegawa, of the Nagano prefecture fire department, told Reuters.

“Planes are diverting their flying routes to avoid the ash.”

NHK quoted police as saying more than 250 people were stranded near the top of the mountain, which last erupted in 2007, and rescue workers were on their way.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Antoni Slodkowski, Mari Saito; Editing by Nick Macfie)