A man has been rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week, after returning to the Japanese peak to try and retrieve his phone.
The man in his twenties, who has not been named, was airlifted off Japan's highest peak last week, but had to be rescued again just four days later.
The 27-year-old Chinese national, who lives in Japan, was found on Saturday by another hiker on a trail more than 3,000 metres above sea level.
"He was suspected of having altitude sickness and was taken to hospital," a police spokesman in Shizuoka region said on Monday, local time.
It later emerged that he had first been rescued days earlier, local media outlets including TBS reported.
Local police were unable to confirm reports that after being rescued by helicopter on Thursday, the man returned to Mount Fuji on Friday to get his phone, which he forgot after being rescued the first time.
The reports didn't say if he successfully found his phone and other belongings.
Mount Fuji is covered in snow for most of the year and is an active volcano.
Its trails are open from early July to September, when large crowds clamber up the mountain to see the sunrise.
Local authorities last year implemented an entry fee and put a cap on numbers to try and prevent overcrowding.
AFP/ABC
