日本因火山爆發死亡人數上升到48人
The death toll from Saturday's massive volcanic eruption in central Japan has risen to 48, after rescuers found 12 more bodies on Wednesday.
authorities in Nagano prefecture say the bodies were found near the ash-covered summit of Mount Ontake, which was packed with hikers at the time of the eruption.
Hundreds of police and soldiers aided by helicopters continue searching the mountain. Authorities believe an unknown number of people are still missing.
Hundreds of people were stranded on the peak after it erupted Saturday without warning around noon, local time. Most made their way down Saturday evening.
Many of the survivors suffered cuts, bruises and bone fractures, likely after being hit by rocks flying out of the volcano. Toxic fumes and the threat of further eruptions have complicated search efforts.
Mount Ontake is popular among hikers in the autumn. The volcano, which sits on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures west of Tokyo, had its last major eruption in 1979.星期三，日本救援人員又找到12具屍體，使得上星期六御嶽山火山噴發造成的死亡人數增至48人。
長野縣當局表示，這些遺體是在被火山灰覆蓋的御嶽山山峯附近找到的。火山噴發時，那裏擠滿了徒步旅行者。
成百上千名警察和軍人在直升機的幫助下，繼續在山上搜索。當局認爲仍然有數目不詳的人失蹤。
御嶽山星期六中午時分在沒有預兆的情況下突然噴發，當時有數百人被困在山峯上。他們當中大多數人在星期六晚間下山。
倖存者當中很多都有遭受割傷，撞傷和骨折，可能是被火山噴發帶起的石塊擊中造成的。有毒煙霧和再次噴發的威脅，使得搜索工作變得困難。
御嶽山是秋季遠足者喜愛的地方。這座座落在東京以西長野縣和岐阜縣交界處的火山上次噴發是在1979年。
