A 27-year-old Melbourne man has died at a ski resort in Japan, days after the death of Queensland snowboarder Brooke Day.
The man collapsed and suffered a heart attack while skiing with six others in Niseko, Hokkaido, on Monday, according to a spokesperson for a local ski lodge who asked not to be identified.
The Australian had been working at a local hotel while in Niseko and was skiing at the back of his group of seven when he collapsed and four other skiers saw him fall and began CPR, the spokesperson said.
“He was a talented, kind, gentle and wonderful man,” they said.
“There was no accident, collision or fall of any kind.”
The man was retrieved by the fire department and pronounced dead at hospital, with local police saying they would investigate, local outlet UHB reported.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the man’s family.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” a Dfat spokesperson said.
The Australian’s death came three days after 22-year-old Day died when her backpack was caught in a ski lift at Tsugaike resort in Otari, near Nagano.
The resort’s lift operator said it would fully cooperate with investigations and “take concrete measures to prevent recurrence, such as strengthening our safety management system”.
Japan has faced record-breaking snowfalls in recent weeks, with 30 deaths and more than 100 people suffering serious injury nationwide in snow-related incidents since 20 January, the disaster management agency has reported.
Niseko’s Annupuri ski resort, near where the man was reportedly found, recorded 290cm of snow near the mountain’s peak on Wednesday and 200cm at its base.
The daily Niseko avalanche bulletin noted the snowfall was “exceptionally good” on Monday while warning visitors to avoid skiing off-piste.
“The area outside the gates is not a ski resort,” the 2 February bulletin read.
Snowfall has delayed train services, forced highways to close and last week briefly shuttered the main airport of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, stranding hundreds of passengers.
With reporting by Reuters
