Story highlights Bad weather halts search for more bodies on Mount Ontake

Of the 47 known victims, 42 bodies have now been identified, Japanese police said

Mount Ontake began erupting Saturday, unleashing a cloud of ash that engulfed hikers

Seismologists warn that another big eruption could take place in the coming days

The search for bodies from an erupting volcano in central Japan was suspended Thursday as weather conditions deteriorated.

Officials are concerned that heavy rainfall could increase the threat of an avalanche of accumulated ash on Mount Ontake.

As of Thursday morning, 47 bodies had been recovered from the mountain, with 42 people identified so far, according to Nagano prefectural police.

Ontake unleashed a huge cloud of ash late Saturday morning that billowed down the mountainside and engulfed hikers in its path. Witnesses described hearing a sound like thunder when the eruption began.

Authorities estimated there were 200 to 250 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption. Most of them were reported to have managed to make the long trek down the mountain.

But some people remained trapped in several lodges on Ontake, and others were missing altogether, local authorities said.

Hundreds join search

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Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Rescuers walk in line after a search operation near the peak of Japan's Mount Ontake on Wednesday, October 1. Efforts to recover bodies from the erupting volcano have resumed after search teams had been hampered by gas and hot ash shooting into the air. At least 47 people were killed when the volcano erupted over the weekend. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Rescue workers board a military helicopter heading to the top of Mount Ontake on October 1. Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – A military helicopter leaves a temporary landing site for a rescue mission on Monday, September 29. Witnesses described hearing a sound like thunder as the volcano began to erupt two days earlier. Hide Caption 3 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Firefighters and members of Japan's military conduct a rescue operation on an ash-covered hillside near the peak of Mount Ontake on Sunday, September 28. Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Plumes of smoke and ash billow from Mount Ontake as it continues to erupt on September 28. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Climbers descend Mount Ontake on September 28. Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – A helicopter lifts a survivor from the ash-covered top of Mount Ontake. Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Firefighters and members of Japan's military conduct a rescue operation at a mountain lodge near the peak of Mount Ontake. Hide Caption 8 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Rescuers assist an injured person on September 28. Hide Caption 9 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Rescuers walk through ash covered-structures while searching for victims on September 28. Hide Caption 10 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Plumes of smoke and ash rise over Mount Ontake on Saturday, September 27. Hide Caption 11 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – An aerial view shows the dense white plume of Mount Ontake rising high into the sky. Hide Caption 12 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Dense fumes are spewed out from several spots on the slope of Mount Ontake. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Climbers flee the mountain as the eruption coats the area in a layer of ash. Hide Caption 14 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Local authorities say there were roughly 250 hikers in the area at the time of the eruption. Hide Caption 15 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – A mountain lodge is covered in ash. Hide Caption 16 of 17 Photos: Photos: Mount Ontake erupts Japan's Mount Ontake erupts – Smoke and ash rise from the summit crater of Mount Ontake. Hide Caption 17 of 17

Soldiers from Japan's Self Defense Force (SDF) have joined hundreds of police and firefighters in the search this week, with 11 helicopters deployed to carry bodies from the mountain's slopes.

Though some of the victims were still being examined by the local coroner, the cause of death for those officially pronounced dead was recorded as injury from direct hits by volcanic cinders, police said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency -- which has raised the Volcanic Alert Level for Ontake from 1 to 3, meaning the public is advised to not approach the volcano -- has warned that another large eruption could take place in the next few days.

Mount Ontake, at 10,060 feet (3,067 meters), is the second tallest volcano in Japan after Mount Fuji, and a popular destination for hikers, especially in the fall when richly-colored autumn foliage is on display.

The last major eruption of Ontake, which is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Tokyo, took place in 1979, according to the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian Institute.

That eruption lasted months, spewing out more than 200,000 tons of ash, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.