Thirty-one people are believed to have died after Mount Ontake in Japan suddenly rumbled to life on Saturday, trapping dozens of mountain climbers near the summit and prompting local authorities to mobilize hundreds of rescuers.             

Four men have already been pronounced dead, according to crisis management official of the Nagano prefecture, Takehiko Furukoshi.

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The rest, who have been listed as suffering from cardio-pulmonary arrest, will be confirmed dead following a formal examination according to Japanese custom, Reuters reported.

Most of the bodies were found in a lodge near the summit, while some were buried in ash as thick as 50 centimeters deep, said a Kiso City fire department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

About 250 people were scaling the 3,067-meter peak when the volcano suddenly erupted around midday on Saturday.

Most of them were able to descend the mountain after the eruption. However, dozens remained trapped in the thick grey smoke billowing from the volcano until rescuers reached the site on Sunday, various reports said.

Rescue operations were resumed early Sunday morning after the overnight search team were recalled amid fears of possible eruption.

Before bodies were discovered on Sunday, local authorities reported that 45 amateur hikers were still missing, according to The Guardian.

Those who were stranded were reported to have taken refuge in the cabins scattered across the mountain side.

Several hikers were found with injuries and seven people were lifted off from the mountain using helicopters in a rescue operation involving 500 firefighters, police offices and medical personnel, the Guardian reported.

Also on Sunday, 26 hikers who were trapped on the Gifu side of the mountain reached the foot of the mountain by noon. Eight of them were injured, including two hikers who sustained serious injuries.

Officials at the volcano division of the Japanese meteorological agency said there were no signs to indicate possible eruption. Although small earthquakes have been detected to increase since September 10, officials said an eruption of this scale was not easy to predict. 

The deaths on Japan's second highest mountain were the first recorded since the eruption of Mount Unzen in southwest Japan in 1991 which left 43 people dead. The last major eruption of Mount Ontake, which is 200 kilometres west of Tokyo, was in 1979 when it sent 200,000 tonnes of ash and volcanic rocks into the sky, local reports said.

TagsJapan volcanic eruption, Mount Ontake, Mount Ontake eruption