Japanese police have discovered three male hikers in cardiac arrest along a hiking trail near Mount Houou (elevation 2,931m) in Japan’s Central Alps today. Authorities believe the three are part of a group of nine South Korean hikers reported missing yesterday.
Japanese media report that Nagano Prefecture police stated that around 8:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. Taiwan time) today, Japanese rescue teams first found two hikers, then another one, all in cardiac arrest.
Almost at the same time, rescuers spotted four people moving near Mount Hinokiboramaru (elevation 2,728m).
Two members of this South Korean hiking group remain unaccounted for.
Yesterday at around 1:15 p.m., members of the Korean hiking group near Mount Hinokiboramaru in the Central Alps of Nagano Prefecture informed police via a mountain hut that a 70-year-old male member was unable to move.
Nagano police said the Korean hiking group consisted of 20 people, aged between their 40s and 70s. As of the evening of the 29th, 11 were confirmed safe, but nine were missing. Japanese rescue teams were dispatched early this morning to begin search operations.
This group of South Korean hikers entered the mountains on the 28th, stayed overnight at a mountain hut, and planned to head for Mount Houou on the 29th. 1020730
(Central News Agency)