Jun 14 (Japan Today) - A record 3,129 people were stranded on Japanese mountains last year amid a continued boom in activities such as climbing and walking, a police report revealed Thursday.
That represented a rise of 18 from the previous year, while the number of accidents increased 78 to 2,661, the highest recorded since comparable data became available in 1961.
In contrast, the number of dead and missing people dropped 12 to 342, the National Police Agency said, with more than 70 percent of them aged 60 or older, the report said.
Altogether, 50.5 percent of people stranded, and 71.9 percent of those who died or are still missing, were in their 60s or older.
The largest group of people in distress was those aged 70 or older, accounting for 698, or 22.3 percent, followed by those in their 60s, at 692, or 22.1 percent, and people in their 50s, at 486, or 15.5 percent.
Among the dead and missing, 110, or 32.2 percent, were in their 70s, 101, or 29.5 percent, in their 60s, and 42, or 12.3 percent, in their 50s.
By activity, 385, or 12.3 percent, were picking wild vegetables or mushrooms.
A total of 111 overseas tourists were stranded, more than half of them while off-piste skiing, according to the report.
Source: ANNnewsCH
