2 Men Killed in Avalanche in Nagano

Nagano, Jan. 30 (Jiji Press)--Two men were found and confirmed dead on Monday after being engulfed by an avalanche in the village of Otari in Nagano Prefecture the previous day, local police said.

When discovered, the men were buried 20-30 centimeters under snow near the avalanche site and showing no signs of life in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.

According to the Omachi station of the Nagano prefectural police department, they are believed to be two of four foreigners who were hit by the avalanche while enjoying backcountry skiing on the eastern slope of the Tenguhara plateau, at an altitude of some 2,100 meters, on Mount Hakuba Norikura in the central Japan village around 2:30 p.m. Sunday (5:30 a.m. GMT).

The other two descended the mountain on their own on Sunday night, with one in his 20s taken to hospital for a dislocated right shoulder.

Twelve police officers searched for the missing foreign skiers from Monday morning.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]