TORONTO – Rescuers were forced to suspend plans to recover at least two dozen bodies from near the summit of Mount Ontake in central Japan on Tuesday after increased seismic activity raised concern about the possibility of another eruption.
READ MORE: 5 more bodies found at Japan volcano; toll now 36
Five bodies were recovered near the summit of the volcano on Monday, bringing the death toll to 36.
Volcanic gases and ash billow from the peak crater of Mount Ontake in central Japan Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 30, 2014.
AP Photo/Kyodo NewsRescuers have managed to airlift only 12 bodies off the mountain since the start of the eruption on Saturday because of dangerous conditions.
VIDEO: Amazing cellphone video of climbers fleeing eruption on Mount Ontake
The Japanese Self Defence Force had initially planned to transport 180 rescue workers to the mountain using a transport helicopter – triple the number from the previous day – before the search was suspended in the early morning.
Rescue workers put their gear away as rescue operations on Japanese volcano Mount Ontake are halted for the day on September 30, 2014, in Nagano prefecture, central Japan. Helicopters were ordered to remain on the ground while troops, firefighters and police were stood down for the day, having done no real searching since the operation was suspended because of rocketing levels of toxic gas near the still-fragile peak.
JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty ImagesIn this photo taken by an anonymous climber and was offered to Kyodo News, climbers descend Mt. Ontake to flee as the volcanic moutain erupts in central Japan, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014.
AP Photo/Kyodo NewsThis aerial picture taken on September 28, 2014 shows rescue workers and Self Defence Force soldiers searching for missing climbers and survivors among ash covered mountain cottages on the top of Mount Ontake at Nagano prefecture, one day after Japan’s volcano Ontake erupted in central Japan, which straddling Nagano and Gifu prefecture.
JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty ImagesAn injured climber, center, is helped by a firefighter, left, after descending Mount Ontake in Gero, Gifu prefecture, central Japan Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014.
AP Photo/Kyodo NewsIn this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 and released by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), JGSDF personnel and fire fighters head for the summit of Mount Ontake to rescue people who have been trapped in the mountaintop lodge during the eruption as plumes of gas and ash are spewed out, one day after the volcano became active in central Japan.
AP Photo/The Japan Ground Self-Defense ForceThis aerial picture taken on September 28, 2014 shows mountain cottages and a Shinto shrine (above) being covered with volcanic ash on the top of Mount Ontake at Nagano prefecture, one day after Japan’s volcano Ontake erupted in central Japan, which straddling Nagano and Gifu prefecture.
JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty ImagesRescue workers carry a climber rescued from Mount Ontake into an ambulance, in Kiso, Nagano prefecture in central Japan, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014.
AP Photo/Kyodo NewsThis handout picture taken by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Chubu Regional Development Bureau on September 27, 2014 shows white smoke rising from Mount Ontake as Japan’s volcano Ontake erupts in Nagano prefecture, central Japan.
KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty ImagesRescuers help an injured person on Mount Ontake in central Japan, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014.
AP Photo/Kyodo News© Shaw Media, 2014
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