Japan volcano rescue suspended as death toll rises to 36

The rescue operation was called off in the afternoon because of fears of toxic gas

Rescue workers near the peak of Mount Ontake, in Japan on September 29, 2014. The rescue operation, which was suspended in the afternoon because of fears of toxic gas, may be further hampered by bad weather. ReutersShow less

TOKYO // Five more bodies were found near the peak of an erupting Japanese volcano on Monday, as rescuers suspended their search because of danger from toxic gas.

The bodies raise the death toll to at least 36 after Mount Ontake erupted without warning during a busy hiking weekend.

Thirty-one bodies were found on Sunday.

Hundreds of firefighters, police and troops had spent much of Monday around the peak, with helicopters flying overhead, despite the gases and steam billowing from the ruptured crater of the 3,067-metre (10,121-foot) volcano.

The rescue operation, which was called off in the afternoon because of fears of toxic gas, may be further hampered on Tuesday as rain is forecast.

A Japanese army official who took part in the search said rescuers had been wearing helmets, bullet-proof vests, goggles and masks to protect themselves from any fresh eruption.

“I saw rocks up to probably one metre across” that were thrown into the air by the force of the eruption, he said.

Stories have begun to emerge from survivors who made it down the mountain as rolling clouds of volcanic debris swept down its flanks, smothering everything in their path.

“Some people were buried in ash up to their knees and the two in front of me seemed to be dead,” one woman told.