Japanese Hiker Captured This Terrifying Video Of Mount Ontake’s Volcanic Eruption

Mount Ontake is the second highest volcano in Japan located 125 miles west of Tokyo. The Japanese volcano is widely considered as a sacred mountain, and following older shamanistic traditions, actors and artists have gone to the mountain to put themselves into trances in order to get divine inspiration for their creative activities. Many tourists flock to hike the volcano on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, last Friday, it unexpectedly erupted forcing 250 hikers to run for their lives. The hikers were strolling at the summit of the 3,067 metre Mount Ontake, when the Japanese volcano erupted without warning, sending a cloud of ash and rock down the mountainside. Within seconds, visibility was reduced to zero. The incident claimed the life of over 50 hikers.

Watch the video below:

50 hikers were sent running for their lives after Mount Ontake erupted without warning.

Visibility was reduced to almost zero.

The ash cloud spread out immediately in every direction shooting thousands of feet into the sky before covering a two square mile area in dense, choking dust.

More than 250 people were on the mountain when the volcano started to erupt forcing walkers to improvise protective masks.

Those near the bottom of the mountain were able to continue downwards, but those near the summit were stranded.

The military launched a rescue operation to escort the stranded walkers to safety.

The 3,067 metre Mount Ontake is about 120 miles west of Tokyo and is popular with hikers and adventurous tourists looking for a walking holiday.

Walkers in the area were forced to improvise to protect themselves from the volcanic ash falling from the sky.

A TV crew working in the area at the time of an unrelated story thought they were going to be killed when the ash and rocks began falling from the sky.

Poisonous gases and ash are being pumped thousands of feet into the sky as the volcano threatens to explode for the first time in almost a decade.

Watch The Video:

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Credits: MailOnline