Bodies of 30 hikers found after volcanic eruption

Rescuers have uncovered the bodies of 30 hikers near the peak of the volcano Mount Ontake, central Japan after Saturday’s sudden eruption.

The hikers weren’t breathing and their hearts had stopped beating, according to report. However, Japanese protocol says that they cannot be certified dead until their bodies have gone through a medical examination.

Mount Ontake, located around 200km west of Japanese capital Tokyo, erupted shortly before noon on Saturday.  

In a Youtube video shown by Japanese broadcaster NHK, climbers can be seen rushing away from the volcano’s peak as an expanding plume emerges above them.

Japan's meteorological agency raised the alert level for Mt. Ontake to three on a scale of one to five. It warned people to stay away from the mountain, saying debris could fall up to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away.

While Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, no people have died there from volcanic eruptions since 1991, when 43 people died at Mount Unzen in south-west Japan.

Japan monitors its volcanoes carefully and any that show signs of activities are immeditaetley closed off. It as yet unclear why no warning was given before the Mount Ontake eruption.