10 elderly climbers die on Japanese mountains

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

TOKYO — Japanese police were investigating possible negligence by tour organizers after 10 senior citizen climbers were found dead Friday in Japan's northern mountains, apparently from hypothermia.

Nine seniors died while climbing Mount Tomuraushi on Hokkaido, Japan's main northern island, said police spokesman Masafumi Yamasaki. Eight were part of an 18-member group tour organized by Amuse-Travel Co. Ltd., while the other was climbing alone.

A 10th elderly person died on another mountain on Hokkaido, he said.

Another police official, Tsuyoshi Matsuya, said investigators believe almost all the victims died of hypothermia.

"Most of the climbers were senior citizens," Matsuya said. "We are looking into a possibility of professional negligence on the part of organizers."

Investigators believe the elderly climbers, caught in strong winds and worn out, quickly deteriorated as chilly mountain air and rain sent their body temperatures dangerously low.





Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLAXwh8Q3BnY0kBW-E6s6RCB8nuQD99G8EO80

[question everything]

1. That's horrible. What a sad story

I thought that in Japan they have more respect for seniors.

[pitohui]

4. they have great respect for seniors, mtn climbing is often participated in by seniors

it can be somewhat of an ego knock to get at the top of a challenging hike and find some tiny couple in their 80s there ahead of you

this is indeed a sad story and i wonder if some freak condition caused it

per the report the temp was 46 degrees fahrenheit, not freezing, but apparently the winds were too much for their clothing

a friend of my husband's died on a solo mountain hike at temps not much cooler than this and he was in his 30s, an experienced hiker, it has never been fully explained but apparently he left his tent and removed his clothing -- a symptom of hypothermia is a feeling of heat that does not exist -- but why he was hypothermic in the first place is a mystery

it is possible to have proper clothing and for some reason be compelled to remove it, but i do not understand how this happens, maybe no one does

in this particular case, it sounds like the rain jackets were too thin...this is the speculation being put out in the article

this case is a tragedy, whether or not it is negligence will need to be properly investigated of course

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Eight dying from a single group has to be negligence

I can't see how it couldn't be called anything else. They can't have had anything like the necessary clothing.

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Depends on how you define negligence

I've been to Daisetsuzan twice in July, and the weather both times was fairly nice. From the Japanese reports, it appears that the hikers were caught up in a freak storm. There was in fact, a stalled monsoon front over northern Japan a few days ago, which led to abnormally heavy rains there, and the hikers likely had the misfortune of being caught up in that. Negligence is the normal charge that is filed in such cases, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the tour company was negligent.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Taking an organised party without appropriate clothing, emergency survival bags

or other easy-to-carry equipment that saves you from sudden bad weather is negligence, to me.

[Devil_Fish]

3. This is not news. NT

[Baclava]

5. Herd them off into the wilderness

Old people die. Get over it.

Thus is the way of our world.


...signed - the killer apes