In pictures: Avalanche engulfs skiers after volcano erupts in snow-hit Japan

One man was killed and at least 11 people injured, some critically, when rocks from an erupting volcano rained down on skiers at a mountain resort in central Japan on Tuesday and an avalanche soon after the eruption engulfed about a dozen skiers.
Video footage from the top of the resort's gondola showed skiers gliding down the slopes as black rocks plummeted from the skies and snow billowed up as they struck the ground, sometimes just missing skiers. A cloud of black smoke later drifted in.
A photograph taken at the site and shown on NHK depicted a gondola with a shattered window. At least several of the injuries were due to broken glass.
The resort temporarily lost power, leaving a number of skiers suspended in gondolas for around half an hour until they resumed moving. Around 80 skiers at a hut at the top of the mountain were awaiting rescue, which began by helicopter on Tuesday afternoon.
It was unclear whether the avalanche was caused by the volcanic activity but they occurred nearly simultaneously.