A tragic incident occurred at a ski resort in Hakuba Valley, Japan, when an 8-year-old Australian girl from Queensland died after a snowmobile she was riding with her mother overturned and crushed her. She is the fourth Australian to die at Japanese ski resorts this year.
International news agencies reported the tragedy involving an Australian tourist family when 8-year-old Chloe Jeffries from Gold Coast, Queensland, had a snowmobile accident while touring with her mother in Hakuba Valley, Nagano Prefecture, last Saturday (28 Feb).
According to the tour operator Hakuba Lion Adventure, the incident happened at about 11:00 a.m. local time as a convoy of nine snowmobiles with three guides was traveling through a forest trail. The snowmobile carrying the girl lost control on a mountain curve, slid onto a dirt embankment, then flipped back onto the road, pinning Chloe beneath the vehicle. Despite rapid airlift to hospital, she later died.
Shinji Wada, CEO of the tour company, expressed deep condolences over the accident and announced a temporary suspension of all snowmobile and snow trekking tours to thoroughly review safety measures and procedures. Meanwhile, Chloe's netball club paid tribute, remembering her as a girl with a "bright and lovely smile."
This marks the fourth Australian death at Japanese ski resorts since the beginning of the year. Previously, in February, 27-year-old Michael 'Mickey' Hurst died after getting separated from friends in Hokkaido, and 22-year-old Brooke Day died at a Nagano resort when her backpack strap caught on a ski lift cable, leaving her hanging in midair and suffering cardiac arrest.
In January, Rylen Henry Pribadi, a teenage Australian-Indonesian, died in Niseko, Hokkaido, after crashing into a boundary pole on a ski run.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed it is providing close consular assistance to Chloe's family. Japanese police are actively investigating the true cause of the accident.
,BBC