TOKYO
Japanese rescue workers have brought more bodies down from the peak of a volcano that erupted for the first time in seven years at the weekend, lifting the death toll to 48.
Many of those who died were reported to have been resting at the peak of 3,067-meter Mount Ontake, and were engulfed in a cloud of toxic smoke on eruption.
The local police force for Nagano prefecture - one of the central Japanese areas where the volcano lies - said Wednesday that the death toll now stands at 48
The Japan Times reported that 10 of 31 bodies found on Sunday were near a spot where toxic smoke billowed from the side and they "could not be rescued," while Nagano reported on its website that around 30 people found on the mountain had suffered lung and heart failure.
Emergency workers had been searching for 45 hikers reported missing.
The volcano erupted for the first time in seven years at 11:53 a.m. on Saturday, spewing rocks into the air and leaving hundreds of people scrambling for safety and 34 people injured, 12 of them seriously, according to the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper has reported the prefecture as saying that about 250 people were on its slopes at the time, but by nightfall most had made their way to safety - many reported to be suffering respiratory problems after being covered with volcanic ash.
On Sunday morning, smoke could be seen rising around 300 meters into the air from the volcano's craters and drifting south while tremors continued, according to Japan's Meteorological Agency.
Officials had cautioned those living within 4 kilometers to be wary of falling rocks thrown into the air by the eruption.
Mount Ontake is the second highest volcano in Japan and was thought to be inactive until 1979, when it underwent a series of eruptions. Further eruptions occurred in 1991 and 2007.
Each year, thousands of people climb to the summit to admire its autumn foliage.
Traffic restrictions were imposed in the area Saturday.
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