Video of Japan’s Mount Ontake Eruption as it Happened · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

One person has been confirmed dead, nearly fifty climbers are severely injured, and ten people are missing after Mount Ontake (御嶽山, Ontake-san), a popular climbing spot in central Japan, erupted for the first time in five years. News coverage shows billowing clouds of ash, and a large climbing lodge at the top of the mountain covered in grey cinder.
Search for Ontake on Twitter to keep updated on this developing story.
YouTube poster kuroda terutoshi uploaded frightening smartphone footage of the initial explosion as it happened at the top of the mountain. “Let's get out of here!” he says, as a cloud of ash descends on the climbers.
Massive eruption on Mount Ontake
AP was able to get pictures of terrified hikers hurrying down the mountain.
At 3,067 m, Mount Ontake is the second-tallest volcano in Japan after Mount Fuji. It's located in Gifu, close to the large city of Nagoya in central Japan, and is a popular hiking destination in summer and early fall.
Due to the many missing and wounded, many people are looking for updates on the status and whereabouts of friends and loved ones caught on the mountain during the eruption.
One popular Tweet sketches out a rough map of the pyroclastic flow:
御嶽山2014年9月27日火砕流、迅速判読図。 pic.twitter.com/xat1De1P1h
— 早川由紀夫 (@HayakawaYukio) September 27, 2014
Japan's hiking community is a close-knit group that frequently connects over social media, including Twitter. So, many people are desperate to find out more information.
Local fire department confirms woman killed in #Ontake volcano eruption 木曽広域消防本部 御嶽山噴火 女性１人死亡 http://t.co/lJlJck2MxH pic.twitter.com/pDUZcDAth6
— Thoton News Japan (@Thoton) September 27, 2014
This comes after, just a day earlier, a well-known hiker from Tajimi in Gifu had posted a much more pleasant image from the top of Ontake:
一人でのんびり御嶽山(^^) pic.twitter.com/cFzNtPuw5e
— enari (@setori_) September 27, 2014
I spent a nice day by myself hiking to the top of Mount Ontake
As of yet, her whereabouts are unknown.
@briandesu Let's hope not… @setori_
— Thoton News Japan (@Thoton) September 27, 2014
Rescue efforts are ongoing to recover climbers trapped at the top of the mountain, which continues to erupt.
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Featured image courtesy kuroda terutoshi