A university student has been rescued from the slopes of Mount Fuji twice in the space of a week – the second time during an attempt to retrieve his mobile phone.
The hapless climber, a 27-year-old Chinese national who has not been named, was airlifted from Japan’s highest mountain last week, only to be the subject of a second search four days later.
It emerged that he had returned to the scene of his first rescue to retrieve his phone, Japanese media reported.
The student, who lives in Japan, was found on Saturday by another off-season climber on a trail more than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level.
“He was suspected of having altitude sickness and was taken to hospital,” a police spokesperson said on Monday.
Officers later realised the same man had been lifted from the mountain by helicopter four days earlier, the broadcaster TBS said.
Media reports said the climber had returned to the 3,776-metre peak on Friday because he had left his phone and other items at the scene of his first rescue. It was unclear if he had managed to find the device.
The incident was a reminder of the dangers Fuji poses to inexperienced climbers who underestimate the challenge of traversing its steep slopes. People are urged not to hike during the off-season as conditions can quickly become treacherous.
Mount Fuji, an active volcano that most recently erupted in 1707, is covered in snow for most of the year and opens to hikers between early July and early September. Many walk partway up the mountain, while others navigate the rocky terrain through the night to watch the sunrise from the summit.
The hiking season attracts huge numbers of foreign tourists, prompting local authorities last year to cap the number of daily visitors on the most popular trail to combat overcrowding.
From this summer, hikers on Fuji’s four main trails will be charged a fee of 4,000 yen ($28/£21).
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
