2 climbing companions of ex-F1 driver Katayama found dead

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GOTEMBA, Japan, Dec. 19 Kyodo -
The two climbing companions of former Formula One racing driver Ukyo Katayama
were found collapsed Saturday on Mt. Fuji and later confirmed dead, police
said.
The police are continuing to ask Katayama, 46, who was rescued Friday, about
the conditions that led to his seeking help for the party of three climbers on
Japan's highest mountain straddling Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures.
Katayama and his company's employees Eiichi Usami, 43, and Toshio Horikawa, 34,
began climbing the 3,776-meter Mt. Fuji from the Gotemba station on Thursday
and put up tents at around 2,750 meters, according to the police.
But the tent in which Usami and Horikawa were sheltering was blown away, and
Katayama told the police Friday that the two ''took their last breaths'' on the
mountain, they said.
Katayama was rescued by the police shortly after noon Friday at around 2,200
meters as he was descending alone.
==Kyodo