Police have recovered the bodies of four climbers from Mount Asahi in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. They suspect the two men and two women ran into trouble in the extremely strong winds and low temperatures.

Police say all four were deceased when they found them lying near a trail on Saturday morning.

They say a man made an emergency call on Friday afternoon. He told them his climbing partner was suffering from hypothermia and could not move.

Another climber later reported finding someone lying on the ground.

Mount Asahi rises to 1,896 meters above sea level. It's so difficult to climb in some places that authorities have installed chains to assist people.

The police and fire department say they were unable to send out a search team on Friday due to heavy winds.

All four of the deceased are believed to be in their 60s or 70s.