Ontake: 16 still missing

Japan's central Nagano prefecture announced on Friday that it feared 16 people were still entombed by half a meter of ash on the belching volcano. The search was delayed by rain and the resulting risk of mudslides.

A Nagano official said families and friends of those still missing were "desperately seeking information," but the approach of Typhoon Phanfone posed the risk of "secondary accidents" resulting from the foot and a half of ash turning into mudslides.

Some of the dead found by several hundred searchers were half-buried in the sticky ash smothering the 3,067-meter peak. Eleven bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

Last Saturday's eruption overwhelmed hikers who had climbed Ontake in sunshine to have lunch and enjoy the autumn colors of the surrounding countryside.

Struck by rocks

Autopsies have revealed that most of those killed were hit by rocks hurled by the initial volcanic explosion at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour (190 mph). One victim died from burns from inhaling hot air.

Most bodies were found near Ontake's summit or on a trail at a slightly lower elevation.

The rising toll makes the eruption Japan's worst volcanic disaster in decades.

Ontake is one of 47 active volcanoes in Japan that are monitored constantly, but officials said there had been no sign to signal such a big eruption.

Forty-three people were killed in 1991 when Mount Unzen erupted in southern Japan.

Japan's meteorological agency announced that Typhoon Phanfone would slam into the southwest by Sunday, packing gusts of up to 252 kilometers per hour.

ipj/mkg (AFP, dpa)