Volcanic eruption covers mountain with ash killing 31 people

Thirty-one hikers are presumed dead after a volcano erupted in Japan.

Hundreds of people were stranded on the popular hiking site on Mount Ontake, in the Nagano Prefecture, and ash continues to smother the area.

Police said 31 people were found who had appeared to suffer heart failure. As per Japanese custom, authorities will not confirm the deaths until a formal investigation is complete.

Ontake, Japan"s second highest volcano, last erupted seven years ago. 52-year-old Satoshi Saito, who was descending the mountain an hour before the eruption, said there was no indication it would happen.

‘There were no earthquakes or strange smells on the mountain when I was there," Saito said.

‘But a man who runs a hotel near the mountain told me that the number of small earthquakes had risen these past two months, and everyone thought it was weird," he added.

The volcano is still pouring smoke and ash today as responding rescue crews hunt for stranded survivors.

Shuichi Mukai, who works in a lodge near Ontake"s peak, said that when the first eruption occurred over 150 people sought refuge in the building.

‘We were really packed in. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. Ash piled up so quickly that we couldn"t even open the door."

If confirmed, the deaths will be the first fatalities caused by a volcano in Japan since 1991, when 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow at Mount Unzen.