TOKYO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of people who got stranded in the mountains in Japan hit a record high of 3,506 in 2022, police data showed Thursday.
Japan's National Police Agency (NPA) data showed that the number increased by 431 from a year earlier, as COVID-19 restrictions were eased and hiking trails reopened.
Of those stranded, 327 people died or went missing, up 44 from a year before, with around 70 percent of them being aged 60 or older, while 1,306 sustained injuries and 1,873 were rescued safely, the data showed.
Nearly 80 percent of the stranded people were in the mountains for climbing purposes, the NPA said.
The NPA officials said that insufficient equipment and unreasonable planning are often the causes of accidents in the mountains, calling on people to plan well in advance and check weather information to prevent such accidents. ■
