A Japanese high school mountaineering club were caught in an avalanche just before 9:30am this morning, which killed eight and injured eight more.
The teenage students were participating in a mountaineering event in Tochigi, a prefecture north of Tokyo. The area had suffered unusually heavy snows this spring, and an avalanche warning was issued on Sunday.
Despite snowstorms heavy enough to prevent rescue helicopters from accessing the area, the students, all from Otawara High School in Tochigi, set out climbing from the local ski resort where the event was being held this morning. They had only receiving climbing instruction on Sunday.
Japan avalanche: Schoolchildren feared dead at ski resort north of Tokyo pic.twitter.com/X9IlDlrCnk
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 27, 2017
The mountaineering event brought together about 60 students from seven different high schools. Today was to be the last day of climbing.
Our thoughts are with the victims’ families and classmates.
Source: New York Times.
Image: Mirror.
