Four climbers were rescued by helicopter from a mountain in Hokkaido after being stranded for about three and a half hours due to an encounter with a brown bear, police said.
At about 2.30pm local time On Saturday, a man in his 60s saw a bear around 50m ahead on the trail while climbing down a 2,141m mountain. According to police, the bear was about 1.5m long.
Three other climbers caught up with the man and at around 4.50pm, one of them made an emergency call to report that they were unable to continue after seeing the bear. No one was injured.
The latest incident came as Mt Rausu on the Shiretoko peninsula, a World Natural Heritage site in Hokkaido, reopened to climbers yesterday.
The climbing routes had been closed since August, when a 26-year-old hiker was killed in a bear attack.
About 50 city officials and climbers of the 1,660m mountain offered prayers during a ceremony in the morning yesterday.
The Environment Ministry and local authorities have taken steps to prevent similar incidents. Brown bear alerts are displayed at four levels.
An increasing number of bear sightings and related injuries have raised the alarm among the authorities who are seeking to assess bear habitats.
In Akita prefecture, an 83-year-old man was attacked by a bear while he was picking mountain vegetables yesterday.
He sustained injuries to his head and face but was able to communicate when taken to the hospital, according to local police. — Kyodo News/ANN
