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 spokesman for a local ski lodge who asked not to be identified.
The Australian was working at a local hotel while in Niseko and was skiing behind his group of seven when he collapsed and four other skiers saw him fall and started CPR, the spokesman said.
“He was a talented, kind, gentle and wonderful person,” they said.
“There was no accident, crash or fall of any kind.”
The man was taken to the fire department and pronounced dead at the 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 spokesman said.
The Australian’s death came three days after 22-year-old Day died when his backpack got caught in a ski lift at Tsugaike resort in Otari, near Nagano.
The resort’s elevator operator said it would fully cooperate with investigations and “take concrete steps to prevent recurrence, such as strengthening our safety management system”.
Japan has been dealing with snowfall in recent weeks, with 30 deaths and more than 100 people suffering serious injuries across the country in snow-related incidents since 20 January, the disaster management agency reported.
The Annupuri ski resort in Niseko, near where the man was reported to have been spotted, recorded 290cm of snow near the top of the mountain on Wednesday and 200cm at its base.
The everyday Niseko avalanche bulletin noted that snowfall was “exceptionally good” on Monday while warning visitors to avoid off-piste skiing.
“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 closed the main airport on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, stranding hundreds of passengers.
With Reuters reporting