Two Hong Kong trekkers became stranded on a peak in Japan's Hida Mountains after being caught in severe weather. Japanese authorities launched a rescue operation, ultimately saving one of the men while the other, a 22-year-old living in Tokyo, was pronounced dead after being airlifted to hospital, according to local media reports.
Police from Gifu and Nagano Prefectures deployed a helicopter to the area on Tuesday morning. The 30-year-old trekker was rescued at around 10am, while the search for the second man continued.
Later reports confirmed that the 22-year-old man was located and airlifted to a hospital, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Efforts to reach the pair on Monday were hampered by severe weather, forcing rescue teams and helicopters to turn back. A combined team of police and civilian rescuers resumed the search on Tuesday.
The ordeal began around 4pm on Sunday, when the Hotakadake Sanso mountain lodge received a distress call from one of the trekkers, who reported that they were unable to move due to the extreme weather conditions.
A friend of the trekkers appealed for help on the social media platform Threads on Monday. It is reported that the pair's ropes had frozen, preventing their descent, and that they were running low on food and water. One of the trekkers reportedly lost consciousness during the ordeal.
(Updated at 5.24pm)
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
