Japan calls off search for last hikers missing on volcano

Japan rescue authorities called off the search for people still missing on a volcano in the centre of the country, citing dangerous conditions, a news report said Friday.
Fresh snow and falling temperatures on the 3,067-metre Mount Ontake made it too dangerous for the hundreds of rescue workers, Nagano Province Governor Shuichi Abe was quoted as saying by the Mainichi Shimbun.
Seven people were still missing since the volcano erupted in a cloud of ash on September 27, leaving 56 confirmed dead, the Japan Times reported.
The search on the volcano, around 200 kilometers west of Tokyo, would not be resumed before spring, dpa quoted Nagano's Abe as saying.