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Shizuoka cops: Second hiker found in cardiac arrest on Mt. Fuji

A rescue team on Monday found a body likely belonging to Katsutoshi Watanabe on Mt. Fuji
A rescue team on Monday found a body likely belonging to Katsutoshi Watanabe on Mt. Fuji

SHIZUOKA (TR) – Following the discovery on Sunday of the body of a 18-year-old student who died in a fall while hiking up Mount Fuji with a six-person group, a rescue team has found what is likely the body of another member of the group, Shizuoka Prefectural Police said, reports TBS News (Nov. 21).

At around 8:00 a.m. on Monday, the team found a body likely belonging to Katsutoshi Watanabe, a 64-year-old from Hiroshima Prefecture, near the 7th Station of a trail, located at an elevation of 2,700 meters. He was in a state of cardiac arrest.

Watanabe had gone missing the day before after he and fellow hiker, Ibuki Suemoto, an 18-year-old university student in Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, fell from the trail.

At around 10 a.m. on Sunday, Suemoto telephoned emergency services with his mobile phone to report that he had fallen near the 9th Station, located at an elevation of 3,600 meters, and suffered a bone fracture in his foot.

About six hours later, a rescue team discovered Suemoto’s unconscious body off a trail near the 7th Station. He is believed to have fallen again after making the emergency call. He was confirmed dead on Sunday night.

Suemoto and Watanabe are among a six-person group from Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures that set out for the 3,776-meter summit from Yamanashi Prefecture at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. The other members of the group returned safely.

A rescue team consisting of 15 persons resumed a search for Watanabe at 6:30 a.m. on Monday.