3 men briefly buried under snow in northern Japan, 1 unconscious

Photo taken in Sapporo, Hokkaido, shows the scene where three men were temporarily buried under snow that fell from a roof on Feb. 18, 2026. (Kyodo)

SAPPORO (Kyodo) — Three men were buried under snow in northern Japan on Wednesday before being rescued, with one of them, likely in his 60s, unconscious, the local fire department said.

In the incident in Sapporo on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the two other men, believed to be in their 70s, were able to communicate after being freed, according to the department.

The three were rescued about 20 minutes after a neighbor made an emergency call at around 10:35 a.m. saying three people had been buried under snow that fell from a roof.

The temperature in the area was 2.9 C as of 10 a.m., a reading normally recorded in early March, according to the local weather observatory. The site is located about 7 kilometers from JR Sapporo Station.