A Japanese tourist has died while climbing Uluru in the Northern Territory.
NT Police say the 76-year-old man collapsed and lost consciousness while climbing on Tuesday afternoon. He was flown to Yulara clinic but could not be revived.
In a statement to SBS News, police said: "Emergency services responded to a call yesterday around 4pm but sadly the man was declared deceased by attending medical personnel.
"The death is being treated as non-suspicious and police are preparing a file for the coroner."
The climb has now claimed 37 lives since records were first kept in the 1950s, with the majority falling or succumbing to heat stress and dehydration.
The last death was in 2010 when a 54-year-old Victorian man died after collapsing 160 metres from the base of the climb.
The Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park’s Anangu Traditional Owners have requested visitors not to climb Uluru since they were granted the title deeds for the land in 1985.
At the base of the climb, there are signs written in multiple languages - including Japanese - asking visitors to reconsider their intention to climb.
Anangu Traditional Owners feel a great sense of sorrow and responsibility when someone is injured or dies in the park, and some have been known to travel to funerals in the past.
A Parks Australia spokesperson told SBS News that they were "deeply saddened" by the incident and out of respect, the Uluru climb will remain closed on Wednesday 4 July.
Last year, the Traditional Owners of Uluru announced that the culturally significant site will be closed to visitors from October 26, 2019.
The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management unanimously voted to close the site to climbers.
Chairman and senior Traditional Owner Sammy Wilson said the decision to close the climb came after extensive consultation.
"Over the years Anangu have felt a sense of intimidation, as if someone is holding a gun to our heads to keep it open. Please don’t hold us to ransom," he said in an address to the board.
“More recently people have come together to focus on it again and it was decided to take it to a broader group of Anangu. They declared it should be closed. This is a sacred place restricted by law.”
Please don't climb
The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has previously urged visitors to avoid climbing the monolith because of cultural, safety and environmental reasons.
The Anangu traditional owners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park said: "We feel great sadness when a person dies or is hurt on our land.
"We would like to educate people on the reasons we ask you not to climb and if you choose to climb, we ask that you do so safely."
- With AAP.
