Reports are surfacing that a mother and her three sons are missing from a central ski field in Nozawa Onsen in Japan.
According to local reports, the family didn’t return home from the ski field last night, and a search party will be sent out this morning if they have not been found.
The mother is said to be in her 50s; the ages of her three adult sons have not been released. The family has not yet been named.
Nagano police: 4 skiers reported missing in Nozawa Onsen ski resort, an Australian woman in her 50s and her family https://t.co/TV8BjCCpYC
— Yumi Asada (@yumi_asada) January 16, 2017
They were reported missing after a relative called authorities when they saw a Facebook post from the family calling for help. The Facebook post said they had dug a cave in the snow to shelter from the cold.
Overnight while the family was missing, the temperature was below -10°C, with added wind chill lowering it even further.
A spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told SBS that department was looking into the incident.
We’ll update this story as more information arises.
Source: SBS.
Photo: Nozawa Holidays.
