Japanese climber dies, another rescued on Peru mountain
Mountaineer Chiaki Inada, 40, died after she and Saki Terada, 35, called for rescue Tuesday after climbing around 6,600 meters up the 6,768-meter-high mountain. Terada is conscious and being brought down the mountain by a rescue crew, the Wilderness Medical Associates Japan, which is coordinating with local rescuers, said.
The pair arrived in Peru in early June. They had extensive experience in climbing, with Inada also working as a mountain doctor. They had been thoroughly preparing for the ascent, a source familiar with the two said.
When they sought rescue on Tuesday, Inada was unable to move due possibly to hypothermia, according to the group, of which Inada is a member.
The rescue operation became difficult due to snow covering the mountain and poor weather conditions.
© KYODO
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
6 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Strong quake shakes southwest Japan islands amid continued temblors
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 hit off small islands in southwestern Japan on Thursday, after over 1,000 felt temblors in the area in nearly two weeks, the weather agency said. The quake, which struck around 4:13 p.m. off the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, measured a lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 on Akuseki Island, part of the village of Toshima, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued. Local authorities in Toshima said they confirmed the safety of all people on Akuseki Island. At the time of the quake, there were 76 people there including 66 residents. There have been no reports of injury or property damage, according to the National Police Agency. A quake measuring lower 6 is described by the weather agency as a level at which it becomes difficult to remain standing, with possible damage to building tiles and windows. The latest quake originated off the southwestern coast of Akuseki Island at a depth of around 20 kilometers. The region has been hit by over 1,000 quakes of a seismic intensity of at least 1 since June 21, with quakes measuring a lower 5 logged on Monday and Wednesday, a local meteorological observatory said. The Japan Meteorological Agency is urging people to remain cautious of quakes of similar intensity as well as the risk of building collapses and landslides. The people on the island sought shelter at a school after the village issued an evacuation order. The village is considering evacuating them from the island.
Yomiuri Shimbun
8 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
All Residents Confirmed Safe After Strong Earthquake Hits Japan's Akusekijima Island
All residents of Akusekijima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture have been confirmed safe after a strong earthquake measuring a lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 hit the island on Thursday evening, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi. An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.5 struck off the Tokara Islands in the prefecture at around 4:13 p.m. Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
10 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
More than 1,000 Earthquakes Observed around Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Pref.; Highest Number in 10-Day Span
More than 1,000 earthquakes measuring 1 or stronger on the Japanese seismic intensity scale — including one that measured lower 6 — have hit areas around the Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture since June 21, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on Thursday. According to the agency, the number of earthquakes since June 21 reached 1,031 as of 4 p.m. on Thursday. At around 4:13 p.m. on Thursday, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.5 hit the Tokara Islands, according to the agency. It measured lower 6 on the intensity scale with a maximum of 7 at Akusekijima Island in Toshima in the prefecture. Earlier on Thursday, the island was rocked by several earthquakes measuring 4 on the scale at 6:51 a.m., 2:31 p.m., 3:11 p.m., 3:18 p.m. and 3:35 government upgraded the information liaison office in the crisis management center of the Prime Minister's Office to the countermeasures office on Thursday afternoon after the earthquake measuring lower 6 hit the island. 'Based on the prime minister's directive, we are making all-out efforts to assess the damage and take emergency measures, including lifesaving and rescue, under the policy of 'human life first,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference held after the major earthquake occurred. 'We will work closely with local governments to implement these measures. Please be careful about the possible recurrence of earthquakes with an intensity level of lower 6.' Many earthquakes have been occurring for about two weeks. There is a risk of falling rocks and cliff collapses in areas where the tremors were strong. On Wednesday, the agency held an emergency press conference concerning the spate of earthquakes, calling on residents in the area to prepare for immediate evacuation. This area has been repeatedly hit by earthquakes in the past. According to the agency, 308 earthquakes of an intensity 1 or higher were observed in December 2021 and 346 in September 2023. They mostly subsided over the course of a few days. This time, the number of tremors has continued to increase for more than 10 days, According to Hiroshi Yakiwara, associate professor of seismology at Kagoshima University and an expert on earthquakes in the Tokara Islands, the Philippine Sea plate is subducting under the Eurasian plate on the east side of the islands, and on their west side, there is an east-west spreading force centered on the Okinawa Trough. 'The pushing and subducting forces may be causing strain to accumulate in the surrounding faults, resulting in frequent earthquakes,' Yakiwara said. He also said that unlike past earthquakes, the location of the focuses of the recent earthquakes have tended to gradually spread out into the surrounding areas, and it is possible that 'fluids' such as water are rising under the seafloor, making the faults easier to slide. As for the impact on a possible earthquake along the Nankai Trough, Yakiwara said, 'There is no relation [between the recent quakes and a Nankai Trough quake] because the focus areas are far away.'
