TOKYO - Concern was mounting Tuesday for a party of about 20 climbers who went missing in a snow storm in the north of Japan's largest island of Honshu, the Kyodo news agency said.
The group had set off on a climbing expedition from the hot-spring resort of Tazawako in Akita prefecture early Tuesday but had still not returned well after nightfall, police said.
A man in the prefecture called police late Tuesday to say his wife, believed to be one of the members of the group, had not returned at her scheduled time of 7 pm (1000 GMT).
Police have expressed concern that the group may have been involved in an alpine accident in the area which has been hit by a snow storm.
A surveillance camera at the starting point of the climb detected the group of climbers leaving for a mountain at around 8:45 am.
03/29/2005 14:42 GMT