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7 Students, 1 Teacher Killed in Japan Avalanche | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Firefighters carry a survivor they rescued from the site of an avalanche in Nasu town, Tochigi prefecture on March 27, 2017. AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS


Seven high school students and one teacher were killed on Monday after being caught in an avalanche during on a mountain-climbing trip in Japan, with more than 30 people reportedly injured.

More than 100 troops have been deployed in a major rescue effort after the avalanche hit ski slopes in Tochigi prefecture, about 190 kilometers north of Tokyo.

TV footage showed rescuers climbing mountains as ambulances stood by.

A group of 52 students and 11 teachers from seven high schools were on a three-day mountaineering outing when disaster struck, according to authorities.

In the latest update seven students and one teacher were found with no vital signs, an official with a prefectural disaster task force told AFP.

A warning had been issued for heavy snow and possible avalanches from Sunday until Monday in the area north of Tokyo, with the local weather agency forecasting snowfall of some 30 centimeters.

The avalanche struck in the town of Nasu on the final day of the excursion, Tochigi authorities said, adding that soldiers were sent for rescue operations at the request of the prefecture’s governor.

“This is an annual event and we never had a major accident before,” one of the teachers told Jiji Press. “I am really shocked.”

The ski resort had been closed for the season, according to the operator’s website, with the lift stopped and no skiers at the site.

But some of its facilities were made available for the high school mountaineering trip organized by local physical education authorities.