36 People Are Believed To Have Died In Japanese Volcano Eruption

The search for survivors was suspended on Monday due to dangerous conditions.

By
Alan White
by Alan White

BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

and
Francis Whittaker
by Francis Whittaker

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Updated — Sept 29, 4:04 a.m. ET

Just before noon on Saturday, Mount Ontake in central Japan erupted.

36 people are believed to have died. Five more lifeless bodies were found on the mountain's slopes on Monday morning, CNN reported, on top of the 31 that authorities believed were there over the weekend.

Kyodo / Reuters

It is thought that 24 bodies still remain on the mountain, with 12 having been recovered, identified and pronounced dead, according to Nagano Prefecture Police.

Yesterday, Reuters reported that the national broadcaster NHK had said the initial 31 bodies were in a state of "cardiopulmonary" arrest.

Kyodo / Reuters

This is, according to AP, "The customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police doctors can examine it."

CNN reported that "More than 350 rescue workers -- a mix of police, firefighters and military personnel -- began climbing two separate routes up the mountain on Sunday morning."

On Monday, the search for hikers was suspended due to dangerous conditions at the summit.

Kyodo / Reuters

Police said rescuers were being put in danger as hydrogen sulfide gas was being spewed from the mountain.

The eruption registered a three (out of five) on the Japanese Meteorological Agency's danger scale.

Kyodo / Reuters

The video of the eruption has now been watched nearly four million times.

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