One man has been killed and at least 11 people are injured, some critically, after rocks from an erupting volcano rained down on skiers at a mountain resort in central Japan.
The volcano on Mt Kusatsushirane triggered an avalanche soon after whicn engulfed about a dozen skiers on Tuesday.
Seven of those struck by rocks were members of Japan's Ground Self Defence Force (SDF) engaged in winter training manoeuvres, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. All were rescued, with one man dying later.
Japanese media said at least 12 people were injured, many apparently hit by volcanic rocks. Two were critically injured and three seriously, national broadcaster NHK said.
One person was trapped in the avalanche for some time before being dug out by rescuers, who included SDF members.
Kusatsu-Shirane, a 2160-metre (7090 ft) volcano, erupted on Tuesday morning, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The agency warned that further eruptions could not be ruled out and that rocks could be thrown as far as 2km from the peak.
Video footage from the top of the resort's gondola showed skiers gliding down the slopes as black rocks plummeted from the skies and snow billowed up as they struck the ground, sometimes just missing skiers. A cloud of black smoke later drifted in.
The resort temporarily lost power, leaving a number of skiers suspended in gondolas for around half an hour until they resumed moving. About 80 skiers, including some non-Japanese at a hut at the top of the mountain, were later rescued by helicopters on Tuesday afternoon.
The warning level for the peak was raised to 3, meaning that people should not climb the mountain, the JMA said.
Japan has 110 active volcanoes and monitors 47 of them around the clock. In September 2014, 63 people were killed on Mt Ontake, the worst volcanic disaster in Japan for nearly 90 years.
