One man is dead and at least 16 people injured, some critically, when rocks from an erupting volcano rained down on skiers at a mountain resort in central Japan
A Japanese soldier injured on the ski slopes died, Jiji Press reported, citing Japan's Defence Ministry.
Nine civilians were injured by volcanic rocks, while seven people - six soldiers and one civilian skier - were hit by an avalanche, according to fire department and defence officials.
Kusatsu-Shirane, a 2,160-metre volcano, erupted on Tuesday morning, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The agency warned that further eruptions could not be ruled out and that rocks could be thrown as far as 2km from the peak.
Defence officials said the soldiers, who were among 30 conducting ski training, were buried by an avalanche about half an hour after the eruption, but they and the seventh skier had all been pulled out of the snow.
Video footage from the top of the resort's gondola showed skiers gliding down the slopes as black rocks plummeted from the skies and snow billowed up as they struck the ground, sometimes just missing skiers. A cloud of black smoke later drifted in.
"There was this huge boom, and a big plume of totally black smoke rose up," one skier told NHK. "I had absolutely no idea what had happened."
The resort temporarily lost power, leaving a number of skiers suspended in gondolas for around half an hour until they resumed moving.
Aerial photographs showed a large swath of the snowy volcano covered by dark grey ash.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said no Australians had been affected by the avalanche.
