Japanese volcano toll reaches 36

Toxic gases, ash force rescue workers to suspend mission

An aerial view shows rescue workers searching for missing people near mountain lodge with heavily damaged roof top in the erupted Mount Ontake, central Japan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Japanese soldiers managed to bring down eight more bodies by helicopter from the ash-blanketed peak of a still-erupting volcano on Monday, before toxic gases and ash forced them to suspend the recovery effort in the early afternoon. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
An aerial view shows rescue workers searching for missing people near mountain lodge with heavily damaged roof top in the erupted Mount Ontake, central Japan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Japanese soldiers managed to bring down eight more bodies by helicopter from the ash-blanketed peak of a still-erupting volcano on Monday, before toxic gases and ash forced them to suspend the recovery effort in the early afternoon. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT

KISO, Japan — Five more bodies were found near the summit of a Japanese volcano Monday, bringing the total presumed dead to 36, police said.

Toxic gases and ash from the mountain, which is still erupting, forced rescue workers to halt efforts to recover the victims. Rescuers have airlifted only 12 bodies off Mount Ontake since the start of the eruption Saturday because of dangerous conditions.

How the victims died is unclear, although experts say it was probably from suffocating ash, falling rocks, toxic gases or a combination of the factors. Some of the bodies had severe contusions.

Survivors told Japanese media that they were pelted by rocks from the eruption. One man said he fled with others to the basement of a lodge, fearing the rocks would penetrate the roof.

Yuji Tsuno, a veteran mountain photographer, was near the summit. After taking pictures of the initial explosion as ash and debris rained down, he took refuge in a nearby hut, he told the TBS TV network.

About 20 minutes later, when the smoke partially subsided, he began his descent. It was a gamble, but he believed it was his only chance, he said.

“I almost thought it was the end of my life,” he said in the interview.

On his way down, he spotted a man heading up.

“I told him to go down with me, but he said he had to check on his child up there. I couldn’t stop him,” Tsuno said.

The eruption caught seismologists by surprise. Although somewhat increased seismic activity had been recorded for about two weeks, there were no indications of a major eruption, said Satoshi Deguchi, a Japan Meteorological Agency official in Nagano prefecture. Typical signs, such as increased seismic rattling or underground structural movement, were not detected.

Japanese TV showed soldiers carrying body bags Monday morning to a military helicopter that had landed in a relatively wide-open area of the now bleak landscape, its rotors still spinning.

The bodies were flown to a nearby athletic field and taken to a small, wooden elementary school in the town of Kiso, where they were being examined in the gymnasium. Family members of the missing waited at a nearby municipal hall.

More than 200 soldiers and firefighters, including units with gas-detection equipment, were part of the search mission near the peak, said Katsunori Morimoto, an official in the village of Otaki.

The effort was halted because of an increase in toxic gas and ash as the volcano spewed fumes, he said, adding that the rescuers reported a strong smell of sulfur.

The eruption was the first fatal one in modern times at the 10,062-foot mountain, a popular climbing destination 130 miles west of Tokyo. An eruption occurred in 1979, but no one died.

The mountain began erupting at perhaps the worst possible time, with at least 250 people hiking on a beautiful fall Saturday. The blast spewed large, white plumes of gas and ash high into the sky, blotted out the midday sun and blanketed the surrounding area in ash.

Hundreds were initially trapped on the slopes, although most made their way down by Saturday night.

About 40 people who were stranded overnight came down Sunday. Many were injured, and some had to be rescued by helicopters or carried down on stretchers.

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 59 people had been injured, including 27 seriously. It was trying to determine whether any people were still missing.

Information for this article was contributed by Mari Yamaguchi and Ken Moritsugu of The Associated Press.

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