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Search for missing Ukrainian man suspended due to weather

TOKYO (TR) – A team searching areas around Mt. Fuji for a missing Ukrainian man suspended the effort on Tuesday due to unsuitable weather conditions, an acquaintance revealed on Facebook.

On Monday, the team began searching trails leading up to Mt. Fuji to locate Oleksii Borysenko, 37, who was staying at the Oak Hostel Cabin in Chuo Ward when he went missing on February 28.

The team reached an elevation of 3,000 meters. However, no signs of Borysenko were found. On Tuesday, a storm came through the Kanto area, which caused the search to be suspended.

“We are waiting for weather improvement to continue the search directly on the mountain,” wrote acquaintance Kirill Kudinov on Facebook. “The helicopters, three police rescue teams and one team gathered by us have been involved.”

Oleksii Borysenko went missing on February 28 (Twitter)

“Please contact us”

Borysenko’s luggage remains at the hostel. He also is known to have missed his flight back to Ukraine. He was last seen entering a nearby subway station near the hostel.

Kudinov said in a previous post that Borysenko is believed to have left Tokyo for Mt. Fuji. Though, he did not elaborate. The team is now seeking volunteers to assist in the effort.

“The more people are there, the less time it will take to search,” Kudinov wrote. “If that’s you, please contact us.”

Borysenko is an active trail runner. He came to Japan in February to run in the Tokyo Marathon on March 1. However, he did not participate after the event was restricted to only elite athletes following the outbreak of the coronavirus.