TOKYO, Feb 18, (Xinhua): Three people were confirmed dead after being found collapsed on the snow in the mountains of Fukushima City in northeast Japan on Tuesday. According to local authorities, at around 8:30 pm  local time on Monday, a hotel employee at Takayu Onsen in Fukushima City, reported that "three employees who went into the mountains have not returned."

The three men, hotel employees in their 50s and 60s, entered the mountains at around 2 p.m. local time on Monday to manage the hot spring source, but had not returned by nightfall. Police and firefighters began their search on Tuesday morning, and the three men were found collapsed on the snow by noon.

A doctor who accompanied them confirmed the deaths of all three at the scene, according to the fire department. There is a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide near the site, and it is possible that the three had inhaled the gas, local media reported. The police are currently investigating the incident.