Two men were found after an avalanche in Japan and are presumed dead, police said Monday, a day after the off-road crash in central Nagano.
The search for two missing foreign nationals had been launched, and police officer Tomohiro Kushibiki told AFP that officers were working to confirm they were the same couple.
Both men were found “in cardiorespiratory arrest,” he said, a term commonly used in Japan before a death can be confirmed by a doctor.
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The two missing were outside the patrolled areas of a ski resort in the town of Otari along with 11 other skiers and snowboarders when the incident occurred on Sunday.
Five people were hit by the avalanche, and the other three were able to descend on their own, Kishibiki said.
The other members of the group also reportedly made it down the slope safely.
Last week, a cold snap covered much of Japan with heavy snow, including Nagano, which attracts many foreign tourists during the ski season.
There is currently an avalanche warning and a snow warning in place for the area.
The Mountain Gazette magazine reported that American professional skier Kyle Smaine, 31, was killed in an avalanche in Nagano on Sunday.
Fans were quick to drop tributes to a video he had posted to Instagram on Sunday that showed him backcountry skiing.
“This is what brings me back to Japan every winter. Amazing snow quality, continuous storms and some really fun terrain that seems to get better as you explore,” Smaine wrote in a commentary accompanying the video.
