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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Michael McGowan

Elderly Japanese tourist dies while climbing Uluru

The death of the 76-year-old Japanese tourist is the 37th confirmed death at Uluru since the 50s.
The death of the 76-year-old Japanese tourist is the 37th confirmed death at Uluru since the 50s. Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images for AOC

An elderly Japanese tourist has died while climbing Uluru, Northern Territory police have confirmed.

The NT coroner will investigate the death of the 76-year-old man, who died after trying to climb the rock.

Emergency services responded to a call about 4pm on Tuesday. The man was taken to a health clinic at nearby Yulara but declared dead by medical personnel.

It is the 37th confirmed death at Uluru since record keeping began in the 1950s. In 2010 a 54-year-old Victorian man died while trying to climb down the rock. Another Japanese tourist died while climbing Uluru in 2008.

Climbing Uluru will be banned from next year, after a decision made by the local national park board and traditional owners.

Traditional owners have been asking visitors not to climb the rock since the 1980s, and signs asking people to reconsider climbing have been in place at the base of the climb area since 1992.

The death is not being treated as suspicious.

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