Eight people are feared dead and two were in critical condition on Monday after an avalanche hit a group of high school students and teachers climbing in central Japan.
It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were students, an official said.
DEVELOPING: Multiple people feared dead, including schoolchildren after avalanche in Japan – BBC pic.twitter.com/4Mk8YJNLse
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 27, 2017
The avalanche occurred on Monday morning near a ski slope in Nasu, 160 km (100 miles) north of Tokyo, where 52 high school students and 11 teachers were climbing, a local government official said.
The eight showed no vital signs, officials said. Japanese officials typically do not declare victims dead until a doctor has made a formal announcement.
“We have avalanche incidents once or twice a year around here, but haven’t had anything this big,” a fire department official said.
(Feature image source: Twitter/@TelegraphNews)
