More Than 30 Feared Dead Atop Japanese Volcano

Rescuers at the scene of a Japanese volcano that unexpectedly erupted yesterday have now found at least 30 people described as suffering cardiac and pulmonary failure, reports CNN; that's what the AP calls "the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body" until it can be declared dead by a doctor. "We have confirmed that more than 30 individuals in cardiac arrest have been found near the summit" of Mount Ontake, a police rep in Nagano tells the AFP, as per the BBC. Some 45 to 50 people were thought to have remained on the volcano overnight; search efforts resumed at daylight, and seven people were reported to have been rescued via helicopter. Bodies were being brought down the mountainside in a trek that takes about three hours, notes the AP. Up to eight inches of ash is covering Mount Ontake, adds the BBC. (More volcano stories.)