Japanese tourist dies during Uluru climb

A Japanese tourist has died today while climbing Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory.

The 76-year-old man collapsed while trying to ascend the steepest part of the rock on Tuesday afternoon. He was taken to a nearby health clinic at Yulara but was declared dead by medical personnel.

Commenting on the demise of the visitor, the 37th person to die while climbing the Australian icon, Northern Territory Duty Superintendent Shaun Gill told the ABC "a helicopter had to be utilised to retrieve this person and take him back to Yulara clinic, but unfortunately he passed away.

“At this stage, we don’t believe it’s anything suspicious.”

The last person to die making the climb was a 54-year-old Victorian man in 2010 and another Japanese tourist died in 2008.

Three men also got stuck on Uluru in 2016 after straying from the designated path, requiring a huge rescue effort.

Traditional owners, the Anangu people, have been vocal about their wishes for people not to climb Uluru since the 1980s not just because of its spiritual significance but also the physical dangers of the climb.

Signs were also erected in 1992 asking people to reconsider scaling the rock.

A statement from the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board advised "too many people have died while attempting to climb Uluru. Many others have been injured while climbing."

According to Fairfax, the number of tourists attempting the climb has begun to decline. 38% of visitors to the park attempted it 10 years ago, but the figure dropped to about 16% in 2017.

The climb will officially be banned from 26th October 2019, a date that marks 34 years to the day since the original hand back to its Traditional Owners.

The decision was made after the National Park Board of Management unanimously voted to close the climb.

Images: Uluru from the air (top) and signs erected by its Traditional Owners ask people to reconsider scaling the rock (below).

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