Mountaineering: after the black series on Everest, four people found dead at Mount Fuji, or the dangers of overcrowding

Le Mont Fuji culmine à 3 776 mètres d’altitude. MAXPPP – CHRISTINE HART

Quatre morts dans l’ascension du mont Fuji avant l’ouverture de la saison.

Four people lost their lives while climbing Mount Fuji, Japanese media reported on Wednesday, a few days before the opening of the climbing season. Three remains were discovered near the volcano's crater as rescuers searched for a missing Tokyo man.

After climbing Japan's highest mountain, he sent his family photos taken from the summit on Sunday, national TV and radio broadcaster NHK reported. The identities of the three victims have not yet been confirmed, NHK added.

In addition, a climber contacted the police on Wednesday from a trail near the summit to indicate that a person who accompanied him had lost consciousness, the Japanese media reported. The individual, ill, was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the same source.

220 000 visitors expected from July to September

Local police were unable to confirm this information. Authorities are warning mountaineers of the risks of climbing Mount Fuji, where hiking trails will officially open next Monday. Mount Fuji is covered in snow for most of the year, and during the climbing season from July to September, more than 220,000 visitors venture onto its peaks. rocky and steep slopes.

Many climb during the night in order to watch the sunrise and some attempt to reach the summit, which rises to 3,776 meters above sea level, without taking a break, risking illness or injury. Regional officials said they were concerned about the security and preservation of the site, due to the overcrowding of Mount Fuji, both a symbol of Japan and a place of pilgrimage.

Hikers who take the most popular route this summer, the Yoshida Trail, will have to pay 2,000 yen (12 euros) per person, and only 4,000 visitors daily newspapers will be admitted, in order to curb attendance.