TOKYO, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Two tourists were killed, and eleven injured on Wednesday when they encountered a snowslide on a mountain in northern Japan's Aomori prefecture, local reports said.

    A missing tourist has been found and rushed to hospital in the afternoon. He was conscious though injured, Kyodo News said. The snowslide occurred at around 11:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).

    A tourist group comprising some 24 people started climbing the mountain at Aomori city, Aomori prefecture at around 9:00 a.m. (0000 GMT). A guide contacted their hotel around two and a half hours later, saying that snowslide occurred. Some 40 firefighters were then sent to rescue.

    The rest 11 people are safe and fine, police said.

    Strong winds blew around the mountain in the morning, rescuers said. Winds at the mountain top reached 30 meters per second at 1:00 p.m. (0400 GMT). The snow piled 30-40 centimeters deep on the mountain, bringing difficulty to the search, Kyodo News said.

    Japan's weather service warned against snowslides around the Aomori prefecture on Wednesday noon, saying that melting snow due to warm weather may cause more snowslides.