Travel blogger couple drown in Japan torrent as wife tries to save husband

A travel blogging couple have been killed while climbing a mountain in Japan after the wife jumped into a swollen river to save her husband and they were both swept away by the raging waters.

The 35-year-old Chinese wife, who used the alias Agu on social media, and her unidentified Japanese husband, 41, were well known among outdoor travel enthusiasts, according to the mainland news outlet Red Star News.

On June 29, their friend – a 48-year-old Chinese woman who climbed the mountain with them in Gifu prefecture, central Japan – reported to the police that the couple had been dragged along by the current.

Several hours later, their bodies were found downstream, police said.

They were sent to hospital where it was pronounced they had died from drowning, the report said.

The river which the couple fell into is about 80 metres wide and up to 20 metres deep in places. The water level had risen and was flowing quickly following heavy rainfall the day before.

Police said Agu threw a 100-metre-long rope to her husband in the river. He was trying to swim to the bank on the other side and attach the rope to something when he was engulfed by the water.

After a brief discussion with their friend, Agu decided to jump into the river alone to save her husband, but she was immediately swept away by the water, according to the friend.

Both were wearing life jackets when they died, police said.

After Agu and her husband married in February 2023, he wrote on social media: “I’ve chosen mountains as my lifelong hobby. Now I’ve chosen to climb mountains with my partner. Hoping this will embark on a happy life journey.

“I hope we can experience life together, and I hope you will be at my side forever,” he said.

The tragedy attracted many comments on mainland social media.

“She must have loved him very much. I salute her. Rest in peace,” one online observer said on Weibo.

“This accident reminds us that life jackets mean nothing in big floods,” another person said.

Fatal incidents during outdoor activities frequently make headlines in China.

Earlier this month, a 58-year-old Chinese tourist died on Mount Fuji in Japan. Police are still investigating the cause of his death.

Last month, a man and woman hiker drowned while they were exploring a gorge in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.