AKIPRESS.COM - Rescue teams in Japan have resumed their search for survivors of a volcanic eruption on Saturday.

At least 31 people are believed to have died when Mount Ontake shot plumes of rock and ash into the air, BBC reports.

Hundreds of hikers were on the volcano at the time of the eruption. Most walked down to safety but others were trapped.

It is unclear how many people are still on the mountain, which is about 200km (125 miles) west of Tokyo.

Smoke was still rising from the peak on Monday as helicopters resumed a search of the volcano for survivors or bodies.

More than 1,100 firefighters, police and troops are involved in the operation. The bodies of four victims were flown down on Sunday and officials expect those of 27 more will be recovered soon.

Some of the bodies were found in a lodge near the summit and others were buried in ash up to 50cm (20in) deep, Japanese media reported.

Hikers who made it down the mountain told how a rolling cloud of volcanic debris had swept down its flanks, smothering everything in its path.

"Some people were buried in ash up to their knees and the two in front of me seemed to be dead," a woman hiker told the broadcaster Asahi.

Another told how she had heard the last moments of a victim hit by a cascade of rocks.

"There was someone lying outside the hut after being hit in the back," she said.