Hotel guests and employees that were left stranded by two avalanches in Fukushima Prefecture were rescued by helicopters on the morning of February 12.

The avalanches, which occurred on February 10, blocked a prefectural road and left 62 people stranded at Noji Onsen Hotel in the mountains of Fukushima City.

As there was a threat of another avalanche at the site, prefecture officials began rescue operations.

40 of the 62 stranded, which included all 17 hotel guests, were transported to the prefectural police helipad at the foot of the mountain.

Rescued Hotel Guest: Things were a little crazy, but everything seemed okay. Thankfully, services inside the hotel were still operating as normal.

Experts conducted a survey at the avalanche site on February 11 but were unable to confirm the cause of the avalanche, so a drone survey will be conducted on February 12.