Japan Volcano eruption: one dead and 12 injured in ski resort avalanche

Most of those injured were on the ski slopes
Kyodo/via REUTERS
Martin Coulter23 January 2018

At least one person has been killed and 12 injured in an avalanche following a volcanic eruption near a ski resort in central Japan.

Most of the injured were on the ski slopes, while some were hurt in a gondola where glass was broken apparently by a flying rock, said Makoto Shinohara, an official in Kusatsu town in Japan’s central Kantō region.

The Japanese military said six soldiers who were among a group of about 30 people on ski training were buried by a nearby avalanche.

The BBC reported one Japanese soldier was killed in the avalanche.

Officials said that around 80 skiers have taken refuge at a gondola station at the top of the ski slope, where the gondola has been suspended since the eruption.

It remains unclear whether the avalanche was caused by the volcanic activity, but reports say they occurred simultaneously.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says snow-covered Mount Kusatsu-Shirane erupted around 10am.

Japan has 110 active volcanoes and monitors 47 of them around the clock.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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