The snowboarder came across a leg sticking out of the snow while out in the hilly region of Akaigawa Village in Hokkaido. - ISTOCKPHOTO
TOKYO (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A winter holiday in a Japan ski resort turned into a grisly discovery for a snowboarding tourist when she stumbled upon a corpse on the slopes.
The snowboarder was enjoying a day out in the hilly region of Akaigawa Village in western Hokkaido on Monday morning when she came across a leg sticking out of the snow, reported The Hokkaido Shimbun.
She reported her sighting to patrolling staff at the Kiroro Snow World ski resort, who then alerted the local authorities.
Hokkaido police retrieved a female body that was partially buried under snow at the site. They confirmed her death, adding that a snowboard was attached to her legs.
About two months ago in February, a woman in her 30s from Sapporo city was reported missing at Kiroro, the local police said. Investigations are ongoing to determine the identity of the body.
Wintry conditions have previously heightened the risks of mountain mishaps in Japan.
At least 48 incidents have been reported from November 2022 until March 2023, according to Japanese media, including 10 people who died or went missing.
American Kyle Smaine, a former world champion skier, died in an avalanche in the central prefecture of Nagano in January.
In October 2017, a Singaporean woman was among four hikers found dead while descending Hokkaido’s tallest mountain Asahidake, having spent a night without shelter under freezing conditions.
