Four die in plane crash in Japan's Northern Alps

Four people have died after a small plane crashed into a mountain in central Japan on Sunday.

The Cessna aircraft plunged into Japan's Northern Alps in Tateyama.

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Police received an emergency call from a man believed to be one of the four people that died.

According to the Inquirer, an official said after receiving the call: "Two people, including the captain, are unconscious and the remaining two others are stuck but conscious."

However, bad weather hampered rescue efforts and the plane was not found by emergency workers until 14 hours after the call came in.

The plane was found on a snowy mountain slope at a height of 2,300 metres (7,454ft). It was in several feet of snow, and temperatures often fall below zero in the Northern Alps.

The Japan Times reports that the bodies were taken to a hospital in the city of Toyama.

Tateyama is popular with hikers and is home to one of the nation's highest peaks, 3,015 metre Mount Tateyama, and the Kurobe Dam, which is popular tourist destination, adds the paper.