Japanese television footage

Rescue workers were also trying to help injured people and others who had been stranded on the mountain overnight, many taking refuge in mountain lodges. Some were unable to descend on their own, or unwilling to take the risk. Military helicopters plucked seven people off the mountainside earlier Sunday, and workers were helping others make their way down the slopes. One woman was being carried on a stretcher, and a man with a broken arm was walking down. Seven people were picked up in three helicopter trips, said Defense Ministry official Toshihiko Muraki. All are conscious and can walk, though details of their conditions were unclear, he said. Japanese television footage showed a soldier descending from a helicopter to an ash-covered slope, helping latch on a man and then the two of them being pulled up. The Self-Defense Force, as Japan's military is called, has deployed seven helicopters and 250 troops. Police and fire departments are also taking part in the rescue effort.