FIVE more bodies have been found near the summit of a Japanese volcano as toxic gases and ash from the still-erupting mountain forced rescue workers to halt efforts to recover the victims.
The discovery takes the total presumed dead to 36. Eight other bodies had been airlifted off Mount Ontake before work on the ash-blanketed peak was called off.
A total of 12 bodies have now been recovered, leaving 24 near the summit. Exactly how they died remains unclear, whether from gases, suffocating ash, falling rocks or other causes.
Police said the latest victims were found near a shrine at the summit, the same area where other victims were found.
Soldiers carried body bags one by one to a military helicopter that landed in the now bleak landscape,
More than 200 soldiers and firefighters, including units with gas detection equipment, are part of the search mission.
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