Japan volcano eruption Mt. Ontake on Sunday caused 31 hikers to be presumably dead.
The bodies of the 31 hikers were found near at the top of Japan's Mount Ontake, as they were in a "cardiopulmonary" arrest. The hikers were described as 'they stopped breathing' and 'their hearts are not beating. It's a Japanese custom that; they won't declare someone 'dead' until confirmed by a doctor.
Japanese broadcaster NHK has since reported that four of the bodies that were found and brought down from the mountain have been confirmed dead. All four were male.
Mount Ontake is a popular place to see autumn foliage as mostly tourists hike all the time, like Mt. Fuji's, one of Japan's scenic places, is also an active volcano where tourists from all over world hike here.
Meanwhile, Japan Meteorological Agency did not predict any signs of possible eruption, according to reports.
"There were no other signs of an imminent eruption, such as earth movements or changes in the mountain's surface," an agency official said. "With only the earthquakes, we couldn't really say this would lead to an eruption," they added.
People at the foot of the mountain said they heard 'thunder' like sound when Japan's volcano eruption occur.
A man, who safely descended from the mountaun, told BBC;
"The volcanic rocks fell like hailstones. "We couldn't breathe so we covered our mouths with towels."
We couldn't open our mouths either."
Also, one woman who runs a lodge near the summit described the eruption while with tourists that stay in the lodge.
"All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn't even open the door," Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain lodge just below the peak, told Reuters.
"We were really packed in here, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down."
"For a while I heard thunder pounding a number of times,",
"Soon after, some climbers started descending. They were all covered with ash, completely white. I thought to myself, this must be really serious." Shinichi Shimohara added, who works at a shrine at the foot of the mountain.
