Damage from volcanic eruption on Mt. Ontake worst since WW II

Japanese media reported on Wednesday that a rescue operation on its fourth day since the volcanic eruption in Mount Ontake in Japan resulted in the discovery of 12 additional hikers whose heartbeat had stopped.

The discovery brings the number of hikers who fell victims to the volcanic eruption on Mount Ontake to 48, making damage from the latest volcanic activity most severe since the Second World War, to exceed that of the 1991 eruption of Mount Unzen-dake in Nagasaki prefecture that left 43 people dead (including those who went missing). The number of people who suffered severe and minor injuries this time came to a total of 69 as of Wednesday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun said many of the deceased suffered fatal injuries due to popping stones that shot out from the volcano at the time of eruption, rather than being suffocated due to volcanic ashes.

Mount Ontake is feared to see a second eruption, because the scale of volcanic tremor there has expanded since last Monday to the level seen in the night of Saturday last week when the first eruption occurred, while sulfur oxide emission is increasing.