MOSCOW, December 7 (Sputnik) — Two men earlier reported missing in Yoshinogawa, a small city in Japan’s Tokushima Prefecture, were found dead on Saturday, buried in deep snow near a mountain temple, Japanese state news channel NHK World reports.
Earlier, the men had abandoned their vehicle after it became stuck in the snow, the Japan Times explained.
A heavy snowfall has been hitting Japanese provinces along the western coast of its main island of Honshu. Over 100 cm of snow is said to have hit parts of the country’s Yamagata and Fukui Prefectures; 114 cm has fallen in Sukayu, Aomori Prefecture, 102 cm has fallen in Kuzuryu, Fukui Prefecture, and 99 cm has fallen in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture.
About 360 residents of two towns in Tokushima are said to have been cut off from the outside world since Friday, heavy snowfall and fallen trees making roads impassable. Over 1,400 homes across four cities in Tokushima were left without power, with 2,800 households in the Shimane Prefecture also facing a temporary power loss.
In the city of Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, a 12-car pileup occurred on an icy bridge on Friday; no major injuries were reported. Another incident halted 10 vehicles on an expressway in Gifu Prefecture, shutting it down for over three hours. An incident in Hyogo Prefecture is said to have resulted in a car crashing into a river Saturday morning. The driver, said to have been found unconscious, was taken to the hospital.
At least 44 flights across airports on Honshu Island were cancelled, affecting around 2,600 people.
The unprecedented snowfall has led to the mobilization of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force in the Tokushima area to help clear the roads, the Japan Times noted.
Several days ago, some 300 passengers were stuck in a train in Yamagata for nearly nine hours after snowfall caused a tree to fall, snapping power lines. To make matters worse, more trees had fallen on the tracks, blocking the train’s path.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency expects another 60 cm of snow in areas along the Sea of Japan in western Honshu.
