KISO, Japan — Toxic gases and ash from still-erupting Mount Ontake forced Japanese rescue workers to call off the search for more victims Monday as dozens of relatives awaited news of their family members.
Rescuers found five more bodies near the summit of the volcano, bringing the death toll to 36. They have managed to fly only 12 bodies off the mountain since the start of the eruption Saturday because of dangerous conditions.
How the victims died remains unclear, although experts say it was probably from suffocating ash, falling rocks, toxic gases or some combination of them. Some of the bodies had severe bruises.
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 that 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 quickly took refuge in a nearby hut, he said. About 20 minutes later, when the smoke partially subsided, he rushed out and 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. Typical signs, such as increased seismic rattling or underground structural movement, were not detected.
Japanese TV showed soldiers carrying a series of body bags Monday to a military helicopter. The bodies were flown to the nearby town of Kiso.
