Mount Ontake erupted late Saturday morning, sending a plume of smoke and ash into the sky, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported.
The bodies of 31 hikers have been found near the top of Japan's Mount Ontake a day after a sudden volcanic eruption.
The hikers were not breathing and their hearts had stopped. The search for a total of 45 for missing climbers has now been called off for the night.
They have observed 17-20 inches (40-50 centimeters) of volcanic ash covering the ground.
Local authorities had said there were roughly 150 hikers in the area at the time, according to the agency, which raised the Volcanic Alert Level for Ontake from 1 to 3.
Japan is at a triple-plate subduction boundary between the Eurasian continental plate and the Philippine and Pacific oceanic plates.
As the denser oceanic plates dive below the low-density continental plate, water from the saturated sediments lowers the melting point of surrounding rock.
That magma feeds a range of volcanoes mirroring the plate boundary.
Twitter images taken on the volcano were released by hikers.
Left: Hikers evacuating after the eruption.
Credit: @mori_mori.
Right: Aerial view of the Mount Ontake eruption.
Credit: NHK
The volcano is a popular destination for religious pilgrimages, and many hikers were out enjoying the beautiful start to the weekend when the eruption hit.
This photo was posted from near the volcano shortly before the eruption.
The public is advised to not approach the volcano, and police and firefighters have deployed to help hikers near the summit.
About 250 people living near the mountain have decided to remain in their homes, police said.
The volcano last erupted in 2007.
It is located about 155 miles (250 kilometers) west of Tokyo.
A second CNN Video report.
The bodies of 31 hikers have been found near the top of Japan's Mount Ontake a day after a sudden volcanic eruption.
The hikers were not breathing and their hearts had stopped. The search for a total of 45 for missing climbers has now been called off for the night.
They have observed 17-20 inches (40-50 centimeters) of volcanic ash covering the ground.
Local authorities had said there were roughly 150 hikers in the area at the time, according to the agency, which raised the Volcanic Alert Level for Ontake from 1 to 3.
Japan is at a triple-plate subduction boundary between the Eurasian continental plate and the Philippine and Pacific oceanic plates.
As the denser oceanic plates dive below the low-density continental plate, water from the saturated sediments lowers the melting point of surrounding rock.
That magma feeds a range of volcanoes mirroring the plate boundary.
Left: Hikers evacuating after the eruption.
Credit: @mori_mori.
Right: Aerial view of the Mount Ontake eruption.
Credit: NHK
The volcano is a popular destination for religious pilgrimages, and many hikers were out enjoying the beautiful start to the weekend when the eruption hit.
The public is advised to not approach the volcano, and police and firefighters have deployed to help hikers near the summit.
About 250 people living near the mountain have decided to remain in their homes, police said.
The volcano last erupted in 2007.
It is located about 155 miles (250 kilometers) west of Tokyo.
A second CNN Video report.
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