The search resumed Wednesday for six people missing on Mount Ontake following its eruption in September. The hunt was suspended last fall when winter weather set in.
After offering silent prayers, search parties headed for the 3,067-meter peak straddling Nagano and Gifu prefectures, where the victims likely died during the Sept. 27 eruption, their bodies now buried beneath ash and rock.
But the searchers found none of the missing before the day's operation was cut short due to the weather, officials said.