Japanese police have confirmed the deaths of three people who were found without vital signs at the crater of Mount Fuji.
Officers were responding to a call on Sunday morning from a Tokyo resident, who said she was unable to contact her 53-year-old husband after he went to climb Japan’s highest mountain.
The man had left home on Friday evening and was supposed to return the next day. On Saturday morning, he sent his family a photo taken near the summit. After that, he could no longer be reached.
While searching for the man, police found three people in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest at the crater on the Shizuoka Prefecture side of the summit.
Police say the three appear to be climbers, and they were found separately at slightly different locations.
Their deaths were confirmed on Wednesday.
Police are working to identify them and determine how they died.
Trails for climbing Mount Fuji are currently closed, but some people still attempt to go up the mountain.
The three trails from Shizuoka Prefecture and one from Yamanashi Prefecture will open for the season in July.
Temperatures near the summit are low, and patches of snow remain. Many of the mountain huts, as well as the emergency medical center, are closed before the start of the climbing season.
Last year, there were 63 accidents involving climbers on the Shizuoka side of Mount Fuji between July 10 and September 10. This is 20 percent more than in 2022.
They resulted in two deaths and 18 injuries.
The Shizuoka prefectural police are urging climbers to be well-equipped for the upcoming season and to be mindful of their health condition while trekking.
Meanwhile, another climber was also confirmed dead on Wednesday after collapsing near the eighth station on the Yamanashi side.
Police say they were notified by a climber shortly after 11:00 a.m. that his companion, a 38-year-old man from Gunma Prefecture, became ill and lost consciousness.
The man was carried to the fifth station on a special vehicle and taken to a hospital, where his death was confirmed.