Industry News
An eight-year-old Australian girl has died after a snowmobile overturned during a tour in Hakuba Village, Japan, Japanese news reported. The accident occurred just before 11 a.m. on February 28 in the Hokujo area of the popular ski destination in Nagano Prefecture. Emergency services received a report that a snowmobile had overturned and that a young girl had struck her head and was bleeding.
According to police and fire department officials, the child was riding as a passenger on a snowmobile driven by her mother when the vehicle reportedly went up an embankment and flipped over. The girl, described as an Australian national and elementary school student, was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Matsumoto in cardiac arrest. She was later pronounced dead.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Local media reported that the family had traveled to Japan on holiday and that the girl was participating in a snowmobile experience tour at the time of the accident. Tour operator Hakuba Lion Adventure issued a statement in which the CEO, Shinji Wada, expressed his sincerest condolences. The company has suspended all operations while the incident is under investigation. According to Shinji Wada, the family was travelin in a group of nine snowmobiles led by three guides. “During the tour, near an uphill curve along a forest road, the snowmobile at the front of the group left the course while navigating the curve and drove up the embankment at the side of the trail. The vehicle then flipped back onto the course. When the vehicle flipped, the back passenger of the snowmobile became trapped beneath the vehicle.”
Australian media identified the victim as 8-year-old Chloe Jeffries from Queensland’s Gold Coast.
The tragedy comes amid a series of incidents involving foreign visitors in Japan’s winter sports regions. This incident marks the fourth Australian death during the winter in Japan. In January, an 22-year-old Australian Brooke Day died when her avalanche backpack became caught in a chairlift in the Tsugaike area of Nagano Prefecture. She was left suspended midair and later died after being transported to hospital.
- Related: 22-Year-Old Australian Snowboarder Dies After Chairlift Accident at Tsugaike Mountain, Japan
With inbound tourism rebounding strongly in recent years, police in ski resorts have noted an increase in accidents involving overseas visitors at ski resorts across Japan. Police in Hakuba have not released further details and said the investigation into Friday’s fatal crash is ongoing.
