In pictures: Rescue operation on Mount Ontake

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 34 climbers have been injured, including 12 seriously. The tally was lower than reported by local officials earlier, but the disaster agency warned that the numbers could still change. The number of those reported missing rose sharply to 32, the agency said.. Kyodo News / AP Photo

The Self-Defence Force, as Japan’s military is called, has deployed seven helicopters and 250 soldiers. Police and fire departments are also taking part in the rescue effort. Kimimasa Mayama / EPA

An estimated 40 people were stranded at mountain lodges overnight, many injured and unable or unwilling to risk descending 3,067-metre Mount Ontake on their own. Rescue workers are also trying to reach the area on foot. Kyodo News / AP Photo

Climbers descend Mt Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures. Kyodo News / Reuters

A large plume, a mixture of white and grey, continued to rise from the ash-covered summit of the volcano Sunday morning, visible from the nearby village of Otaki.. Kyodo News / AP Photo

Many of those who made it down emerged with clothes and backpacks covered in ash. They reported being engulfed in total darkness for several minutes. Kyodo News / AP Photo

Japan’s meteorological agency raised the alert level for Mount Ontake to 3 on a scale of 1 to 5. It warned people to stay away from the mountain, saying ash and other debris could fall up to four kilometres away. Kyodo News / AP Photo

Mount Ontake, about 210 kilometres west of Tokyo, sits on the border of Nagano and Gifu prefectures, on the main Japanese island of Honshu. The volcano’s last major eruption was in 1979. Kyodo News / AP Photo

Mount Ontake in central Japan erupted shortly before noon Saturday, spewing large white plumes of gas and ash high into the sky and blanketing the surrounding area in ash. About 250 people were initially trapped on the slopes, but most made their way down by Saturday night.