A Japanese volcano spewed ash and small rocks into the air and left seven people unconscious, eight seriously injured and more than 250 hikers stranded on the mountain, officials and media said on Saturday. A thick, rolling, grey cloud of ash rose into the sky above Mount Ontake close to where TV footage showed hikers taking pictures. Trekkers and residents were warned of falling rock and ash within a radius of two and a half miles. 'It was like thunder,' a woman told broadcaster NHK of the first eruption at the volcano in seven years. 'I heard boom, boom, then everything went dark.'
The Meteorological Agency said the volcano 125 miles west of Tokyo erupted just before midday and sent ash pouring down the mountain's south slope for more than two miles. The eruption forced aircraft to divert their routes, but officials at Tokyo's Haneda airport and Japan Airlines said there were no disruptions to flights in and out of Tokyo. NHK quoted a Nagano prefectural official as telling a government meeting that seven people were unconscious and eight people were seriously wounded.
IN-DEPTH
- ReutersFirst published September 27 2014, 3:21 AM
Entities 0 Name: Tokyo Count: 3 1 Name: NHK Count: 2 2 Name: Reuters First Count: 1 3 Name: Haneda Count: 1 4 Name: Nagano Count: 1 5 Name: Mount Ontake Count: 1 6 Name: Meteorological Agency Count: 1 7 Name: Japan Airlines Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/YoiXPU Title: Japan volcano erupts, several injured, aircraft diverted Description: The Meteorological Agency said Mt. Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, erupted at around 11:53 a.m. (0253 GMT/10:53 p.m. EDT), sending smoke down the mountain's south slope for more than three kms (1.9 miles). "Seven people were lightly injured and one person suffered serious injuries as a result of the eruption," Makoto Hasegawa of the Nagano prefecture fire department told Reuters.
