12 skiers injured by flying rocks as Japanese volcano erupts

Twelve people, including eight soldiers, skiing on the slopes of a volcano near a famous hot spring resort in central Japan were injured Tuesday by flying rocks during a sudden eruption, officials said. One soldier later died.

The eruption quickly darkened the ski slope at Mount Kusatsu-Shirane with black ash, as volcanic rocks rained down on gondolas and people skiing down the slopes, sending them desperately seeking shelter at a mountaintop station.

Ashes from Mount Kusatsu-Shirane cover near its summit after its eruption in Kusatsu, Gunma prefecture, central Japan, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. Twelve people skiing on the slopes of the volcano near a famous hot spring resort were injured Tuesday by flying rocks during a sudden eruption, officials said. (Suo Takekuma/Kyodo News via AP)

The eight soldiers were in a group of 30 who were undergoing ski training and were close to the mountain's peak when they were hit by the volcanic rocks, defense officials said.

The officials had originally said the injuries were caused by an avalanche, but later corrected that account.

One of the soldiers, who was slightly injured, said he took refuge in a forest by the ski slope after seeing black smoke and volcanic rocks shooting into the air. When visibility improved about 10 minutes later, he found several fellow soldiers fallen to the ground, Kyodo News reported.

The four civilian skiers did not have life-threatening injuries, Gunma prefectural disaster officials said.

Only the crater had been off-limits because of low-level volcanic activity before Mount Kusatsu-Shirane erupted around 10 a.m. The Japan Meteorological Agency has since banned access to the mountain.

The eruption occurred in an area considered less at threat from volcanic activity, and officials were caught off guard, agency official Makoto Saito told reporters. No warning had been issued to visitors.

Fire trucks and ambulances are parked at a ski resort in Kusatsu, central Japan, after Mount Kusatsu-Shirane erupted Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. Twelve people skiing on the slopes of the volcano near a famous hot spring resort were injured Tuesday by flying rocks during a sudden eruption, officials said. (Suo Takekuma/Kyodo News via AP)

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said five of the eight soldiers were seriously injured. One of them, a 49-year-old male soldier, later died, said Wataru Tatsukawa, an official at the regional military training camp.

Onodera said the training was for rescue operations in the snow, and it was regrettable that those who were supposed to help had to be rescued.

Town officials said everyone on the mountain had been accounted for, and all of about 80 skiers who took refuge at a gondola station at the top of the ski slope were brought down to the foot of the mountain, some by a military helicopter, others by snowmobiles. The rescue operation was finished by the evening.

NHK public television showed the first group of rescued skiers, wearing helmets, being handed a bottle of tea each and escorted into a cabin.

Volcanic ashes cover the slopes of a ski resort in Kusatsu, Gunma prefecture, central Japan, after Mount Kusatsu-Shirane erupted Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. Twelve people skiing on the slopes of the volcano near a famous hot spring resort were injured Tuesday by flying rocks during a sudden eruption, officials said. (Suo Takekuma/Kyodo News via AP)

"I was scared to death, and I'm so relieved to come back alive," an unidentified male skier told NHK, still wearing a helmet. He said he was inside a gondola with two of his friends when the volcano erupted. "Volcanic rocks rained down on the roof of the gondola. It shook so violently that I was afraid the whole thing might smash down on the ground."

Other skiers said rocks as big as lunch boxes rained down.

An earlier report that some people had been injured by shattered glass when rocks struck a gondola had not been confirmed.

A helicopter of the Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force flies at a ski resort in Kusatsu, central Japan, for a rescue operation Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. Over a dozen people skiing on the slopes of Mount Kusatsu-Shirane were injured by flying rocks during a surprise eruption and a subsequent avalanche Tuesday, and one person later died. (Muneyuki Tomari/Kyodo News via AP)

A rest house at the resort was hit by volcanic rocks, resort official Yasuaki Morita said.

Kusatsu-Shirane last erupted in 1983. The area is known for Kusatsu Onsen, a famous hot spring resort. Kusatsu town officials said the impact of volcanic eruption was apparently limited to the ski resort, with no ash or volcanic rocks detected in the town, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the volcano.

Members of the Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force stand at a ski resort in Kusatsu, central Japan, for a rescue operation Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. Over a dozen people skiing on the slopes of Mount Kusatsu-Shirane were injured by flying rocks during a surprise eruption and a subsequent avalanche Tuesday, and one person later died. (Muneyuki Tomari/Kyodo News via AP)

Japan sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. An eruption of Mount Ontake in 2014 killed about 60 people. Several other Japanese volcanos are considered unstable and have had small eruptions in recent years.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. president had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II.

Biden’s comments offended a key strategic ally as China moves to increase its influence in the region.

The president spoke at a Pennsylvania war memorial last week about his Army Air Corps aviator uncle Second Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., whom he said was shot down over Papua New Guinea, which was a theater of heavy fighting.

“They never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals for real in that part of New Guinea,” Biden said, referring to the country’s main island.

Marape said in a statement on Sunday that Biden “appeared to imply his uncle was eaten by cannibals.”

“President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such,” Marape said in a statement provided by his office to The Associated Press on Monday.

“World War II was not the doing of my people; however, they were needlessly dragged into a conflict that was not their doing,” Marape added.

The rift comes as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began a visit on Monday to Papua New Guinea, Australia’s nearest neighbor. Albanese and Marape will commemorate strong defense ties between the two countries by walking part of a pivotal battle ground known as the Kokoda Track later this week.

“I’m very confident that PNG has no stronger partner than Australia and our defense and security ties have never been stronger,” Albanese told reporters before departing Australia.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday Biden was speaking to the bravery of his uncle and the many U.S. service members that put their lives on the line.

“He takes this very seriously. His uncle, who served and protected this country, lost his life serving. And that should matter,” she said.

Biden's account that Finnegan's plane was shot down was not supported by military records. Finnegan was a passenger on a Douglas A-20 Havoc transport plane that crashed into the ocean after both engines failed on May 14, 1944, according to a Pentagon report.

One crew member survived but no trace was found of the plane or three other people on board, including Finnegan.

Marape’s statement was released on the same day he met China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Port Moresby to discuss building closer relations.

Marape also called on the U.S. to find its war dead in Papua New Guinea’s jungles and to clean up the wreckage of war.

“The remains of WWII lie scattered all over PNG, including the plane that carried President Biden’s uncle," Marape said.

“Perhaps, given President Biden’s comments and the strong reaction from PNG and other parts of the world, it is time for the USA to find as many remains of World War II in PNG as possible, including those of servicemen who lost their lives like Ambrose Finnegan,” he said.

“The theaters of war in PNG and Solomon Islands are many, and littered with the remains of WWII including human remains, plane wrecks, ship wrecks, tunnels and bombs. Our people daily live with the fear of being killed by detonated bombs of WWII,” Marape added.

FILE - Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape, left, listens during a meeting with Pacific Islands Forum leaders during the U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, in Washington. Prime Minister Marape accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. president had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)