13 holiday hikers rescued from snowy Tokyo mountain

22/3/2018 17:45

        Thirteen holiday hikers, reportedly including Chinese citizens, were rescued Thursday after getting trapped overnight by a late-season snowfall on a Tokyo mountain trail.
        
        Tokyo police and disaster officials said, seven who were unable to descend on their own were airlifted off the mountain. Japanese television showed some being lifted up to helicopters hovering above the snow-covered woods.
        
        Some of those airlifted were injured, though their condition was not life-threatening, officials said. The six others walked down, escorted by rescue workers.
        
        Japanese media say the group included four Chinese and requested help from an area fire department Wednesday night. They spent the night on the mountain in the Okutama region, a popular hiking area in far western Tokyo. The group included teens and people in their 40s.
        
        The unexpected snow on Wednesday, a national holiday for the vernal equinox, came days after the start of the cherry blossom season had been announced. It also snowed in parts of central Tokyo, but temperatures were above freezing and there was no accumulation.