Tokyo, May 5 (IANS) Eight mountaineers belonging to different groups in Japan’s Northern Alps mountain range have died as a result of stormy weather, Kyodo News reported Saturday.
Police in central Nagano prefecture said a group of six men were found in a collapsed state near Mt. Korenge by a climber early Saturday. They were airlifted to a nearby village and declared dead, Xinhua reported.
The men, in their 60s and 70s, were not prepared for the rain. They are believed to have died of hypothermia, the report added.
In another incident, a 62-year-old woman was found unconscious Saturday morning on a path near the 2,670-metre Jiigatake peak. The climber was later confirmed dead.
A group of six mountaineers had to be airlifted in Gifu prefecture after they lost contact earlier Saturday. One of them died of hypothermia later, police said, adding the rest were not in a life-threatening condition.
